Following the Federal Reserve’s announcement that it may raise interest rates twice more this year while keeping them steady for now, Wall Street experienced a mixed finish.

The S&P 500 ended the day with a 0.1% increase, fluctuating between gains and losses in response to the Fed’s statement.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, on the other hand, dropped by 232 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite saw a rise of 0.4%.

The Fed concluded its latest policy meeting by maintaining current interest rates, allowing more time to assess the impact of the numerous rate hikes implemented over the past 15 months on the economy, the Associated Press has reported.

The central bank is carefully balancing the objective of slowing down the economy through rate increases to curb inflation, without negatively affecting the job market or triggering a recession.

By holding rates steady, the Fed aims to give the economy sufficient time to adjust to previous rate hikes.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the importance of taking additional time, stating that ideally, they would avoid surpassing the necessary level of rate increases.

This approach would provide some breathing space for the economy and financial markets to adapt.

Written by staff