U.S. stocks sank Wednesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve delivered its seventh and final interest rate increase of 2022.
The central bank lifted its key policy rate by half a percentage point, slowing the pace of hikes from 0.75% across the prior four meetings. The move brings its federal funds rate to a new range of 4.25% to 4.5%, the highest level since December 2007.
All three major averages reversed earlier gains following the decision. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) slid 0.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell 160 points. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) tumbled 1%.
Investors will assess remarks from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at 2:30 p.m. ET.
The decision follows Wednesday’s closely watched November Consumer Price Index (CPI), which rose at an annual 7.1% clip last month, the second consecutive downside surprise in inflation data. Stocks closed higher following the report, but Wall Street’s reaction was underwhelming, with uncertainty still ahead around how much further rates need to go to quell prices that remain persistently high.
While a downshift in inflation was welcome on Wednesday, equity markets pared much of the gains that came immediately following the print as traders thought, “what now?,” BMO Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Strategist Yung-Yu Ma said in an emailed note.
“The Fed is still going to focus on the labor market imbalance, a dovish pivot is still a long way off, and in the meantime, companies and consumers have to recalibrate to the impact of higher interest rates and a slowing economy,” Ma added. “It’s all a balancing act, which we believe points to near-term choppy markets even though the improving inflation backdrop adds a positive bias.”
That view was echoed by other Wall Street strategists, including Bank of America Chief U.S. Economist Michael Gapen, who indicated that although November’s consumer price report reflected a faster retracement in core goods inflation than expected, services inflation remains sticky.
“It may bring up discussions of another downshift in February,” Gapen said in a note penned along with his team at BofA. “We still think they go by 50 basis points given the tightness in the labor market and elevated wage growth, but the debate should be livelier especially if we get another soft December inflation report.”
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 30: Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Jerome Powell speaks at the Brookings Institution, November 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. Powell discussed the economic outlook, inflation and the labor market. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Among specific movers in trading Wednesday, Sofi (SOFI) shares jumped more than 8% after a regulatory filing showed Chief Executive Officer Anthony Noto recently purchased $5 million worth of company shares.
Shares of Charter Communications (CHTR) tumbled nearly 14% following a wave of downgrades that came after the telecom giant announced plans during its investor day to spend big in coming years on a high-speed internet upgrade — starting with $10.7 billion in 2023, more than analysts expected.
Tesla (TSLA) continued a downshift after falling more than 4% in the previous session despite gains across the broader indexes following lighter CPI data. Declines in Tesla on Wednesday came following a price cut from Goldman Sachs and continued selling pressure over concerns around CEO Elon Musk’s management of Twitter.
Tesla’s stock is down more than 18% this month and 50% year-to-date. Since closure of Musk’s deal to acquire Twitter Oct. 27, the stock has cratered roughly 28%.
This week marks what is perhaps the last week of major U.S. economic events of the year for investors, with the government’s retail sales report also on the docket for Thursday. Even as a jam-packed economic calendar keeps traders busy domestically, traders will watch moves by central banks overseas, with policymakers from the U.K. Bank of England, Mexico, Norway, the Philippines, Switzerland, and Taiwan, all set to carry out their own rate decisions on Thursday.
The U.K. received its own inflation reading Tuesday: A rapid rise in consumer prices decelerated slightly to 10.7% from a year earlier in November, down from a 41-year high of 11.1% during the prior month. U.K. equities retreated as investors awaited the U.S. Federal Reserve’s messaging later today and the Bank of England’s rate decision Thursday. The pound traded near its highest level since June.
Back on this side of the Atlantic, all eyes were also on the latest developments in cryptoworld, with former CEO of fallen cryptocurrency exchange FTX Sam Bankman-Fried facing a wave of criminal charges for his handling of customer and investor assets.
On the corporate front, earnings from companies including Lennar (LEN), Trip.com (TCOM), and Weber (WEBR) are scheduled for release on Wednesday.
—
Alexandra Semenova is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexandraandnyc
Click here for the latest trending stock tickers of the Yahoo Finance platform
Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
Download the Yahoo Finance app for Apple or Android
Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and YouTube
