The US stock markets displayed mixed results on Wednesday. By the close in New York, the Dow Jones calculated 51,462 points, marking a decline of 1.2 percent compared to the previous trading day. Earlier in the day, the broader S&P 500 was down 0.5 percent, closing at approximately 7,552 points, while the technology-focused Nasdaq 100 registered a small increase, reaching around 28,945 points at that time.
As was anticipated, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, raised its key interest rate on Wednesday. Members of the Federal Open Market Committee agreed that current inflation levels were high and therefore required measures to ensure price stability, even as the unemployment rate had shown little change recently. A point chart released on Wednesday further indicated that most committee members expect another 25 basis point interest rate hike this year. Of the 18 members who provided forecasts, twelve gave their prediction, with four anticipating an additional 50 basis point increase this year, and two predicting no further hikes.
In currency markets, the European community currency weakened on Wednesday evening. The euro exchanged for $1.1472, meaning the dollar was available for 0.8717 euros.
Commodity prices also saw movement. The gold price softened, with a fine ounce trading at $4,271 in the evening, representing a 0.5 percent drop. This equated to a price of 119.69 euros per gram. Meanwhile, the oil price dropped significantly. At 10:00 PM Central European Time on Wednesday, a barrel of North Sea Brent crude cost $105.80, which was 296 cents-or 2.7 percent-less than the previous day’s closing price.
