U.S. stock indexes dipped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve took the latest step in its campaign to pull interest rates gradually higher.
The decision to raise the federal funds rate for a third time this year was widely expected, and stocks initially climbed following the announcement. But the gains faded in the last 30 minutes of trading after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell finished speaking at a news conference. The sharpest losses came from financial stocks, hurt by a drop in Treasury yields, which can crimp lending profits for banks.
On Wednesday:
The S&P 500 index fell 9.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to 2,905.97.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 106.93, or 0.4 percent, to 26,385.28.
The Nasdaq composite lost 17.11, or 0.2 percent, to 7,990.37.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks dropped 17.20, or 1 percent, to 1,691.61.
For the week:
The S&P 500 is down 23.70 points, or 0.8 percent.
The Dow is down 358.22 points, or 1.3 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 3.41 points, or less than 0.1 percent.
The Russell 2000 is down 20.71 points, or 1.2 percent.
For the year:
The S&P 500 is up 232.36 points, or 8.7 percent.
The Dow is up 1,666.06 points, or 6.7 percent.
The Nasdaq is up 1,086.98 points, or 15.7 percent.
The Russell 2000 is up 156.10 points, or 10.2 percent.
