US indices close lower after Federal Reserve rate hike

Borrowing costs will continue to rise in the US, as the Federal Reserve decided to look past a banking crisis and continue its campaign against inflation. Markets gritted their teeth in anticipation of the 25 basis point increase announced on Wednesday. The base interest rate is now almost five percent, up from near zero in February of last year. The Fed acknowledged that the swift tightening of credit had caught some banks off guard. While Fed Chairman Jerome Powell signaled that this might spell the beginning of the end for rate rises, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen sent bank stocks into a tailspin by suggesting a sector-wide guarantee for all deposits of any size at any bank was not in the cards. #FED #interestrates #JeromePowell