U.S. stocks sank Wednesday in a wild session after the Fed raised its benchmark lending rate for the fourth time this year. The Dow fell 352 points or -1.49% and closed at its lowest level so far this year, erasing a 380 point gain that came prior to the Fed decision. The broad S&P 500 also closed at a 2018 low, falling -1.5% to finish at 2,506 as technology and banks stocks rolled over. The Nasdaq fell -2.1%, its own 2018 closing low with shares of Apple losing more than 3%. The Fed's statement did not suggest that the central bank would slow its pace of rate hikes as quickly as some had hoped. Markets took a leg lower during Powell's comments that the central bank would continue to reduce the size of its balance sheet at the current pace. The Fed decreased it’s outlook for GDP, by two tenths of a percent for 2019 and three-tenths of a percent in 2020 & 2021. The FOMC also lowered its outlook for the long-run funds rate.
