Closing Bell
The Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates knocked equities markets off their high horse, sending the major indices into a selloff into the closing bell.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.41%, or 108 points to 26,392, while the S&P 500 fell 0.32%, or 9 points to 2,906, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.21%, or 17 points to 7,990.
Fed Raises Interest Rates, Sees 3 More Increases in 2019
The Federal Reserve raised its baseline, short-term interest rate to between 2.25% and 2.5% as was expected Wednesday.
The central bank hinted that it could raise rates another three times next year as it hopes to stay above neutral for at least another 2 years.
Markets pushed higher following the decision, led by the Nasdaq, which gained 0.49% Wednesday afternoon.
India Globalization Capital Is Wednesday's Pot Stock Leader
Another day, another cannabis stock jumping double digits.
India Globalization Capital Inc. (IGC) was up more than 30% Wednesday, Sept. 26, after the company announced that it executed a partnership deal for several products including a infusing an energy drink called "Nitro G" with cannabidiol.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based company will offer 797,000 shares of restricted, unregistered, common stock for a 10-year license to market the products in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South America as well as global rights to all CBD-infused products that are developed under the partnership.
The deal also comes with the option for multiple five-year extensions.
"According to a Grand View Research forecast, the global energy drinks market is projected to be almost $85 billion by the year 2025, with non-alcoholic beverage sales expected to account for a significant portion of the market. This represents a unique opportunity for the development and commercialization of a CBD-infused, sugar free energy beverage," said IGC CEO Ram Mukunda.
Experts Expect Federal Reserve to Hike Interest Rates
When the Federal Reserve releases its policy statement Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET most experts expect the central bank to raise short-term interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.
This will be the eighth time the Fed has raised rates since 2015 and the third time this year. The interest rate is currently between 2% and 2.25%.
Premarket
U.S. futures are climbing across the board Wednesday, though markets will be on Fed watch as the central bank is expected to raise rates when it releases its latest monetary policy statement at 2 p.m. ET.
Dow futures are up 0.15%, indicating an open 39 points higher, while S&P futures gained 0.19%, indicating an open 6 points higher, and Nasdaq futures rose 0.23%, indicating an open 18 points higher.
Asian markets rose across the board Wednesday, led by the Hang Seng, which jumped 1.15%, followed by the Shanghai Composite, which gained 0.92%, and the Nikkei, which rose 0.39%.
Stocks in Europe were mixed with the CAC 40 and FTSE 100 gaining 0.32% and 0.02%, respectively, while the DAX in Germany fell 0.19% with a little less than four hours left in trading.
