Stocks sold off Wednesday after the Federal Reserve did as expected and held its benchmark overnight lending rate steady, but signaled a growing concern with inflationary pressures. The main U.S. equity indexes opened lower on hotter-than-expected wholesale price data, and crude oil's continuing rise helped keep a lid on risk appetite. The conclusion of the Fed meeting weighed on most sectors and industries late in the trading session.
In January, the FOMC statement said the unemployment rate had "shown some signs of stabilization." The Fed's view in the aftermath of the February jobs report is that unemployment "has been little changed in recent months."
