First up the headline story:
4:19 PM ET
Stocks gave up all their gains and closed well in the red Wednesday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by a quarter-point, as widely expected.Need those banks to participate, that's where any positives from interest rate moves show up first.
The three key indexes initially extended their gains after the Fed announcement at 2 p.m. ET. But by the close, the Nasdaq was down 0.2%, the S&P 500 fell 0.3% and the Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.4% in the stock market today. Small caps lagged as the Russell 2000 sank 1%. Volume ran slightly higher on both the NYSE and Nasdaq, according to preliminary data.
Stocks turned south as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, "Some asset prices are in the upper reach of their historic ranges." Though the Fed statement omitted language about "accommodative" monetary policy, Powell said it remains accommodative.
Big banks including Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM) weighed on the Dow.
Earlier in the session, automakers, retailers and apparel stocks were among the biggest sector gainers. Tesla (TSLA) surged as much as 4% to retake its 50-day moving average, though it closed slightly below the line. The electric vehicle maker may benefit from reports that California may nearly double EV subsidies. A tax credit that had been in effect for qualified EV buyers since 2010 is set to phase out since Tesla's sales reached 200,000 in July....MORE
And:
Stock News Today: Biotechs Help Nasdaq 100 To Day Of Outperformance
3:59 PM ET
Major stock indexes turned lower late Monday after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again. In stock news today, IBM (IBM) outperformed in the Dow after UBS upgraded shares to buy and raised its price target to 180. Big gainers in the Nasdaq 100 included biotech stocks Alexion (ALXN) and Incyte (INCY).
As expected, the Federal Reserve raised its key lending rate by a quarter point to a range of 2% to 2.25%. Headed into today's decision, the chances for another quarter-point hike at the December meeting were around 77%. After the decision, the chances rose slightly to 80%. The Fed said more gradual rate hikes are needed. It also raised its 2018 GDP growth forecast to 3.1%.
The Nasdaq 100 ended mostly flat; the Dow lost 0.4%; the S&P 500 eased 0.3% and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.2%. The Russell 2000 small-cap index tanked 0.9%. Volume on the NYSE and Nasdaq was tracking slightly higher than Tuesday's levels.
Margin concerns weighed on an otherwise healthy earnings report from Dow component Nike (NKE). But the stock pared an intraday decline of 3.3% to 0.6% in late trading....MORE
