The Dow Jones Industrials resumed their downward path, sinking 76.85 points to 34,440.88.
The S&P 500 index stumbled 41.75 points to 4,402.20.
The NASDAQ index weakened 209.06 points, or 1.5%, to 13,469.13, weighed on by a 2% drop in Microsoft and Nvidia and 3% slide in Google parent Alphabet
Shares of newly public Instacart and Arm Holdings were under pressure on Wednesday, with both stocks trading near their IPO price.
Shares of Instacart dropped more than 10% and briefly broke below the company’s $30 per share IPO price.
Arm Holdings fell more 3% to about $53 per share. The chip stock’s IPO came in at $51 per share.
The Fed held rates steady, as was widely anticipated. But the central bank indicated that one more rate hike is expected before the end of the year in its economic projections. The central bank signaled it would end its hiking campaign after that increase and begin cutting rates next year —though keeping rates at a higher level for the year than signaled in June.
The markets gyrated as traders listened to Fed Chair Jerome Powell give his outlook for rates. Powell said that the central bank would “proceed carefully” in raising rates further but the Fed chief also noted they had more work to do in the fight against inflation.
The central bank hiked its benchmark rate in July to the highest level in more than 22 years. Fed funds futures prices signal just a slight chance of about 29% that the central bank would raise rates in November.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury clunked lower, raising yields to 4.39% from Tuesday’s 4.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices swooned 93 cents to $90.27 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices edged up $1.30 to $1,955.00 U.S. an ounce.