US closes mostly lower after Fed hints rate hike in March
Wall Street closed mostly lower after another volatile session on Wednesday, with investors squarely focused on the latest Federal Reserve monetary policy statement and comments its Chair Jerome Powell gave at the subsequent press conference. Powell strongly hinted that the first interest rate hike could be announced in March, while also revealing that the Fed's balance sheet will be decreased in a "predictable manner."
The Dow Jones declined by 0.38%, or 130 points at the close with Boeing decreasing 4.82%. The Nasdaq 100 was up 0.17% as the trading session ended. Broadcom was its best performer after jumping 4.30%. The S&P 500 lost 0.15% at the closing bell as Discovery led the losses with a 9.16% fall.
The euro was down 0.55% compared to the dollar to change hands at 1.12418 at 3:59 pm ET.