Fed hikes rates by three quarters of a point

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday for the third consecutive time, hoping to slow inflation and lower the prices of goods like food and clothes. It also said that it wouldn’t stop raising rates until inflation is under control. The new raise puts the benchmark rate at about 3 percent—the first time since 2008. New projections showed that some officials expect the rate to climb over 4 percent by December.

What is the stock market doing? The rising rates caused uncertainty on Wall Street as traders tried to decide how much the hike would affect the economy. The S&P 500 wavered between losses and gains until finally closing at a 1.7 percent loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also fell by 1.7 percent, and the Nasdaq composite fell by 1.8 percent.

Dig deeper: Listen to Nick Eicher and David Bahnsen on The World and Everything in It podcast as they discuss the effect that interest rate hikes have on inflation.