Fed holds rates as Wall Street slips and Asian chip stocks stay volatile
What's new: A split Fed decision pushed long-dated Treasury yields to 19-year highs as oil jumped on Middle East fighting.
Wall Street opened lower and Asian markets traded unevenly after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, leaving investors uncertain about its next move on inflation. The Dow fell 0.14%, the S&P 500 lost 0.14% and the Nasdaq slipped 0.05% at the open in New York on Wednesday. In Asia, South Korea's KOSPI dropped 0.6% and was headed for a 15% weekly slide after a sharp selloff in chip shares tied to anxiety over artificial-intelligence spending. Brent crude briefly fell back below $90 a barrel after surging more than 7% a day earlier as Middle East fighting escalated, while longer-dated US Treasury yields climbed to 19-year highs.