US equity markets relinquished earlier modest gains to close the session lower as the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady as expected but hinted that inflation is climbing slowly higher - Dow down -174-points or -0.72% and The broader S&P500 fell -0.72%, with Energy (up +0.40%) the only primary sector of eleven to advance. Consumer Staples (down -2.0%) paced the declines. The NASDAQ shed -0.42% despite Apple Inc climbing a further +4.4% following their strong quarterly result late on Tuesday. The central bank expressed a confident economic outlook, saying that activity had expanded at a moderate rate and that inflation was nearing its 2.0% target. The Fed unanimously decided to keep its lending rate in a target range of between 1.50% and 1.75%. Attention in particular was paid to the Fed’s use of the word “symmetric” to describe the 2.0% inflation target. Elsewhere, trade talks between the US and China commence today, with Chinese President Xi's economic adviser to meet with members of the Trump administration in Beijing over the next two days.
