Stocks fall after the Fed hikes rates

Traders
work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange shortly after
the opening bell in New York
Thomson
Reuters

Wall Street wiped out gains Wednesday after earlier climbing to
near record highs. Bank stocks took a beating after the Federal
Reserve announced a widely expected interest-rate increase. The
dollar edged higher, and Treasury yields fell. 

Here’s the scoreboard:

Dow Jones industrial
average: 26,391.10 -101.11
(-0.38%)

S&P
500: 2,907.43 -8.13 (-0.28%)

Nasdaq
Composite: 85.85 USD -1.83 (-2.09%)

1. The Federal Reserve
   raised its benchmark interest rate, marking its third
   increase this year and eighth since the financial
   crisis. The central bank dropped language
   describing its approach as “accommodative” when announcing a
   new target range of 2-2.25% and signaled one more hike this
   year. Here’s
   a look at how the Federal Reserve makes policy decisions and
   why it matters.
2. As NAFTA progress
   stalls, the Trump administration appears to be doubling
   down on threats to exclude Canada from a final
   deal. The US is expected to publish text of a
   bilateral trade agreement with Mexico on Friday,
   according to Bloomberg, which Canada could presumably
   join if it makes concessions. Key sticking points include
   access to Canada’s protected dairy market and rules on
   resolving trade disputes.
3. After declining for two months, US home sales
   made a comeback in August. Permits for
   single-family housing rose 3.5% last month, the Commerce
   Department said. But with rising mortgage and home prices, data
   shows the underlying trend is weakening.
4. Without presenting evidence, President Donald Trump
   accused Beijing of interfering with the US midterm
   elections. In opening remarks at a United Nations
   Security Council meeting, he
   claimed Beijing was  attempting to hurt him
   politically to retaliate against
   trade escalations. China quickly denied the
   allegation. 

And a look at the upcoming economic calendar: