How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday 3/22/2023

Stocks fell after the Federal Reserve announced its latest hike to interest rates, while also saying it may not tighten the screws much more on the economy.

The S&P 500 fell 1.6% Wednesday, while Treasury yields fell sharply.

The Fed raised its key overnight rate by a quarter of a percentage point, the same size as its last increase, in its campaign to drive down inflation. It also said it may raise rates only one more time as it assesses the fallout from the crisis hitting the banking industry. Banks have been struggling under the weight of much higher rates.

On Wednesday:

The S&P 500 fell 65.90 points, or 1.6%, to 3,936.97.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 530.49 points, or 1.6%, to 32,030.11.

The Nasdaq composite fell 190.15 points, or 1.6%, to 11,669.96.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 50.38 points, or 2.8%, to 1,727.36.

For the week:

The S&P 500 is up 20.33 points, or 0.5%.

The Dow is up 168.13 points, or 0.5%.

The Nasdaq is up 39.44 points, or 0.3%.

The Russell 2000 is up 1.47 points, or 0.1%

For the year:

The S&P 500 is up 97.47 points, or 2.5%.

The Dow is down 1,117.14 points, or 3.4%.

The Nasdaq is up 1,203.47 points, or 11.5%.

The Russell 2000 is down 33.89 points, or 1.9%.