US stocks open Thursday lower after Fed's interest rate decision

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) — Major exchanges in the US opened mixed Thursday after the Federal Reserve's key interest rate decision.

The Dow Jones was down 104 points, or 0.31%, to 33,309 at 9.40 a.m. EDT (1340GMT). The S&P 500 fell 14 points, or 0.34%, to 4,075.

The Nasdaq decreased 33 points, or 0.28%, to 11,991 at the time.

The Fed on Wednesday hiked interest rates once again by 25 basis points. This was its 10th rate hike in just over a year, carrying the target range for the federal funds rate to between 5% and 5.25% — its highest since August 2007.

While Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in his post-meeting press conference that inflation has "moderated somewhat" since mid-2022, he noted that "pressures run high" and that the decision to pause rate hikes was "not yet made."

The VIX volatility index, also known as the fear index, jumped 8.2% to 19.85. Meanwhile, the 10-year US Treasury yield fell 0.8% to 3.375%.

The dollar index rose 0.1% to 101.40, while the euro trimmed 0.3% to $1.1025 against the greenback.

Precious metals were in positive territory, with the price of gold rising 0.1% to $2,040 per ounce and silver adding 0.4% to $25.66 an ounce.

Crude oil prices lost more than 0.2% with the global benchmark Brent crude price at $72.22 per barrel and the US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude price at $68.25.