The main US stock market indices, which had opened lower on Fed rate cut decision jitters, sunk even further into the red. Wider index S&P 500 erased two session's worth of gains after the Fed decided to keep rates steady.
S&P 500 traded 1% lower at 6,649.53, Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 1.28% or 600 points to trade at 46,393.28, and tech-heavy Nasdaq index traded 1.05% lower at 22,243.14.
The US Federal Reserve decided to keep rates steady between 3.5% and 3.75% on various macro-economic indications such as elevated inflation and geopolitical shocks such as the Iran war, stirring the oil markets.
At its last meeting, the Fed had kept its policy interest rate steady in the 3.50%–3.75% range. Before that, it had delivered three consecutive rate cuts of 0.25% each to prevent a softening labour market from slipping into higher unemployment.
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S&P 500 had opened 0.33% lower at 6,693.61, erasing previous day's gains. Similarly, tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite opened 0.37% lower at 22,396.32 and Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked 0.36% lower to 46,825.16.
After the market opened, only three out of the 11 sectoral indices traded in the green while eight traded lower. Consumer Discretionary and Healthcare sectors led the decline while Energy and Industrial sectors led the gains.
Crude oil prices ticked higher with the West Texas Intermediate rising nearly 3% to $98.16 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent Crude rose as high as 5% to $108.87 per barrel.
The magnificent seven stocks traded mixed with Nvidia Corp. up 0.6% to $183.04, Apple Inc. ticking 0.3% lower to trade at $253.40, Meta Platforms Inc. traded 0.22% lower at $620.64, and Microsoft Corp. was down 0.74% to $396.47.
Amazon.com Inc. also slumped over 1% to $213, while Tesla Inc. traded 0.22% higher at $400.02. Google-parent Alphabet Inc.'s stock slipped 0.33% to $310.12.
Spot Gold prices slipped 2.72% to $4,868.85 an ounce ahead of the key rate cut decision.
ALSO READ: US Fed Meeting March 2026: Date, Time, What To Expect And Where To Watch Jerome Powell's Speech Live
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