US stocks ease as Fed hikes rates, Doe drops more than 1%

US stocks ended mostly lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time in more than three years and Chair Kevin Warsh warned that inflation remained persistently high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 631.33 points, or 1.21%, to 51,461.78. The S&P 500 declined 33.92 points, or 0.45%, to 7,551.81, while the Nasdaq Composite was nearly flat at 25,978.43.

The US Fed unanimously increased its federal funds rate by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4%, marking its first rate hike since July 2023. Policymakers also projected one additional quarter-point increase this year. This weighed on risk appetite though a drop in crude oil prices after recent wild spurt capped losses.

In other economic news, retail and food services sales in the United States advanced by 1.2% in August compared to last month's figures, landing at $773.9 billion, the US Census Bureau revealed in its report published on Wednesday. Meanwhile, compared to the corresponding month in 2025, the figure went up 6.0%. Total sales for the period June 2026 through August 2026 were up by 6.0% year-over-year.

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