The Dow Jones Industrials dropped sharply, 317.01 points to 38,150.30.
The S&P 500 index stumbled 79.32 points, or 1.6%, to 4,845.65.
The NASDAQ index tumbled 345.88 points, or 2.2%, to 15,164.01.
Traders were closely watching the Fed announcement for signs of when the central bank would begin to cut rates. Powell seemingly threw cold water on the markets expectation for a March cut, noting further encouraging data on inflation was needed.
Still, the central bank did do something traders wanted, which is remove the part of the statement that signaled the central bank still had a tightening bias. The Fed removed a phrase that referred to “additional policy firming.”
Alphabet dropped more than 6% and was on pace for its worst day since Oct. 25 as disappointing ad revenue overshadowed better than expected earnings and sales. Stock in peer tech firms Microsoft and AMD slipped 2% each on lower-than-expected forward guidance after posting quarterly results.
Shares of Boeing climbed nearly 6% following quarterly results that beat analyst estimates on the top and bottom line. The company has been plagued by recent issues tied to its 737 Max 9 which has pushed Boeing to focus on safety moving forward, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said.
Prices for the 10-year Treasury popped, lowering yields to 3.93% from Tuesday’s 4.04%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.
Oil prices sagged $1.99 to $75.83 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $2.10 to $2,053.