Update: Wall Street Extends Losses Following Fed Hike

04:46 PM EDT, 09/16/2026 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with market moves at the end of the day, and other changes, if any.) US stocks fell for a third straight session on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve delivered its first interest rate increase since 2023 and signaled another hike later this year amid elevated inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.2% to close at 51,461.90, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.5% to 7,551.81. The Nasdaq Composite settled just below the flatline at 25,978.42. Most sectors ended in the red, led by energy. In a unanimous vote, the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee lifted the federal funds rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%. The Fed's latest Summary of Economic Projections document showed the median policy rate at 4.1% at the end of 2026, up from 3.8% projected in June. "Inflation remains elevated," the FOMC said in a statement. "Today's policy action will support a timelier return to the committee's 2% (inflation) goal." Policymakers raised their 2026 projections for personal consumption expenditure headline and core inflation, but left forecasts for 2027 unchanged. "The plain fact is that inflation is too high and has been for too long," Fed Chair Kevin Warsh said in a press conference. "This summer's inflation readings do not tell me that underlying trends have meaningfully improved." The Fed now sounds "more hawkish" than it did in June, according to ING Bank. "Our growth, inflation and jobs forecasts suggest little need for further rate hikes, and it may well be that the Fed is striking a hawkish line in order to build more credibility with bond markets as they look to support Treasury efforts to anchor the long end of the curve," ING said in a report. Treasury yields were higher following the Fed announcement, with the two-year rate up six basis points at 4.73% and the 10-year rate rising 1.4 basis points to 5.01%. In other economic news, US retail sales rebounded more than expected in August as higher fuel prices lifted spending at gasoline stations and outlays on motor vehicles turned positive. US homebuilder confidence this month hit its lowest level since September 2025 amid elevated mortgage rates and material costs, the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo said. West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 3.6% at $101.99 a barrel in Wednesday late-afternoon trade, while Brent dropped 3.1% to $105.39. Saudi Arabia is working to return about half the capacity of its East-West oil pipeline within days, Bloomberg News reported. Drone attacks led to the shutdown of that pipeline last week. Shares of Intel (INTC) rose 4% following a Reuters report that the chipmaker and SK Hynix (SKHY) were discussing a US memory chip partnership. "SK Hynix is exploring various options to strengthen its global competitiveness, but no specific plans or arrangements have been finalized at this time," the company said in a statement. SK Hynix's US-listed shares were little changed. J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) tumbled 13%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after Chief Financial Officer Brad Delco said during a conference call Tuesday that the company expects its third-quarter profit to decline sequentially. Spot gold edged down 0.5% to $4,271.55 per troy ounce, while silver lost 1.4% to $66.75 per ounce.