By Stephen Culp and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi
NEW YORK, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Wall Street fluctuated higher on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate for the first time in over three years to fight stubbornly high inflation stemming from spiking crude oil prices during the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
In its accompanying statement, the Fed said its decision was unanimous and more tightening is likely in the near future to effect a timelier drop in inflation.
"As widely expected, the
Fed hiked interest rates for the first time in more than three years," said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. "After the hawkish comments from (Fed Chair Kevin) Warsh a couple of weeks ago in Jackson Hole, he kind of backed himself into the corner a little bit."
"The fact that it was unanimous is a tad surprising," Detrick added. "At the same time, it really shows that the Fed is serious about combating the broadening inflation backdrop that we're seeing."
Investors will closely parse Warsh's comments at the press conference due to commence shortly, for detail regarding the central bank's rationale behind today's decision and clues regarding the path forward for interest rates.
Earlier in the session, robust retail sales data suggested consumers were still spending despite an affordability squeeze due to rising prices, particularly at the gasoline pump.
The three major U.S. stock indexes were gaining ground prior to the announcement, with a chips rebound, giving the tech-heavy Nasdaq the edge.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 23.70 points, or 0.04%, to 52,114.07, the S&P 500 gained 34.02 points, or 0.45%, to 7,619.75 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 222.62 points, or 0.86%, to 26,204.20.
Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, industrials and technology shares led the gainers, while energy, weighed down by easing crude prices, suffered the largest percentage decline.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.53-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 62 new highs and 235 new lows on the NYSE.
On the Nasdaq, 2,637 stocks rose and 2,018 fell as advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.31-to-1 ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 10 new 52-week highs and nine new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 44 new highs and 197 new lows.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Niket Nishant and Tharuniyaa Lakshmi in Bengaluru; Editing by David Gregorio)
