Stocks Fall Following Fed Rate Hikes

Stocks dipped on Wednesday following the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates by 0.25 percent while acknowledging that recent turmoil in the banking sector could. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.63 percent by Wednesday’s close. The S&P 500 slipped by 1.65 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.6 percent by Wednesday’s close. In a statement on Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said that there may be one additional rate hike this year but that the inflation fight still had a long way to go. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen commented that the Treasury is not considering a broad increase in deposit insurance, resulting in a decline in regional bank shares. The S&P Regional Bank ETF (KRE) fell more than 5 percent by Wednesday’s close.