Fed sent mixed messages, and local stocks were mixed on Wednesday as well

Fed sent mixed messages, and local stocks were mixed on Wednesday as well

Wall Street swung to a mixed finish after the Federal Reserve hinted it may raise interest rates two more times this year, even as it held them steady Wednesday.

Locally, 16 of the 29 stocks on our Huntsville-area list closed lower. Synovus Financial Corp., which operates 32 branches in 20 different cities and towns in the state of Alabama, and Spire were the biggest losers, dropping 3.4 and 3.2%, respectively.

But the news was not all bad.

Toyota inched closer to its 52-week high on Wednesday with a 4.7% gain to close at $165.57. That alongside of Target, which gained 4.51%, were the day’s biggest earners.

The S&P 500 finished the day 0.1% higher after pinballing between gains and losses following the Fed’s announcement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 232 points, or 0.7%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.4%.

The Fed closed its latest policy meeting by saying it would keep rates where they are, to give more time to see how its fusillade of hikes over the last 15 months is affecting the economy. It’s attempting the excruciating balancing act of slowing the economy just enough through rate increases to snuff out high inflation, but not so much as to break the job market and create a recession.