U.S. stocks close little changed as Fed leaves door open

U.S. stocks ended Wednesday little changed following a Federal Reserve rate hike that left the door open for future hikes, but the Dow scored a 13-day winning streak.

The Fed lifted its benchmark overnight interest rate by a widely expected 25 basis points, marking the 11th hike in the U.S. central bank’s past 12 policy meetings.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference the central bank will make decisions meeting by meeting, closely watching economic data, but noted that a rate cut is very unlikely this year.

Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients that the Fed’s statement did not signal a slower pace of hikes in the future, but that the bank was expecting a hold in September.

“The message for the market was that it didn’t move the needle. There’s always a fear of a big surprise,” said Angelo Kourfafas, investment strategist at Edward Jones.

Powell’s message was clearly that the Fed will wait and see economic data to make new decisions, said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management. “I think the Fed won’t stop until they see wage inflation down.”

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