S&P 500 Slides as Fed Hike Rattles Markets, Dow Off 600 Pts
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The Fed's decision to lift rates a quarter point to 3.75%-4.0% marked its first hike in three years, and the S&P 500 struggled to find footing as the Dow shed roughly 600 points in the session. Chair Kevin Warsh's hawkish tone on inflation left little room for equity bulls to celebrate a widely expected move.
Forward guidance split among committee members is the real story for S&P 500 positioning. Analysts now expect another hike before year-end, meaning index volatility could stay elevated as traders reprice growth stocks against a tighter rate backdrop.
Expect sharper daily swings across S&P 500 constituents as markets digest a policy path that no longer assumes cheap money is a given.