The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points, lifting the target rate to a more than 15-year-high of 4.50–4.75 percent.
While investors had anticipated a quarter-point jump to the benchmark federal funds rate, financial markets had added to their losses when the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement revealed “ongoing” rate hikes and “future increases.” But the negative sentiment quickly turned positive during Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s post-FOMC news conference, igniting a late-day rally on Wall Street and erasing its losses.
Powell had reiterated in his opening remarks that the rate-setting committee anticipates “ongoing increases” to “attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive.” This, Powell noted, would help the central bank resuscitate price stability and return to its inflation target of 2 percent over time….