Fed Chair Powell: I’ll stay at the Fed until Jeanine Pirro’s probe is ‘well and truly

A livestream seen at the New York Stock Exchange shows Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaking in Washington, DC, on Wednesday.

US stocks closed lower Wednesday as traders grappled with hotter-than-expected inflation data, spiking oil prices and a Federal Reserve that is content to hold interest rates steady.

The Dow closed lower by 768 points, or 1.63%, and hit its lowest level this year. The S&P 500 fell 1.36%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq sank 1.46%.

Stocks took a step lower as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered remarks. Powell maintained a tempered view of the economy but discussed potential inflationary impacts of higher energy prices as well as tariffs.

“The bar is a little bit higher for cutting rates,” said Mike Dickson, head of research and quantitative strategies at Horizon Investments. “I think we knew that coming in, but we got that kind of confirmed from the comments today.”

Traders on Wednesday afternoon began pricing in no further rate cuts this year, according to CME FedWatch. And that’s despite the Fed’s Summary of Economic Projections penciling in one rate cut.

Treasury yields moved higher as traders recalibrated expectations for higher inflation. The US dollar index was up 0.6%.

Meanwhile, global oil prices moved higher: Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 3.83% to $107.38 per barrel, its highest level since July 2022.