How major US stock indexes fared Wednesday

The Associated Press

Stocks shook off an afternoon stumble and ended higher on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve announced its first interest rate hike since 2018. Bond yields also rose Wednesday as the Fed started to shift its policy to fighting inflation. As markets had anticipated, the Fed raised its short-term rate by 0.25 percentage points. The move marks a shift by the Fed away from maintaining the ultra-low interest rates it had in place during the worst part of the pandemic, which were meant to stimulate the economy. Now that prices are rising, it’s changing course.