Equities briefly extended gains after the Fed decision, with the S&P 500 topping 6,000. Treasury yields dropped across the curve. The dollar slipped. U.S. financial markets will be closed Thursday for Juneteenth.

Inflation has come down a great deal but has been running somewhat above our 2 percent longer-run objective. In support of our goals, today the Federal Open Market Committee decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged.

Tariffs will likely push inflation higher in the months ahead. Powell, speaking at a press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee’s rate decision, emphasized the high level of uncertainty facing the economy but was much more certain about this specific inflation risk.

The Federal Reserve downgraded its projections for U.S. economic performance this year, along with several primary economic indicators. The U.S. central bank sees lower economic growth, higher unemployment and higher prices amid major changes in U.

The Fed is expected to hold rates steady as it continues to observe the effects of President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Investors are nearly unanimous in expecting the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates on hold Wednesday, in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%. The chart below shows how the central bank has steered policy since the turn of the century,

U.S. stocks are drifting on Wednesday as Wall Street waits to hear where the Federal Reserve may be taking interest rates. The S&P 500 was up 0.3% in afternoon trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 131 points,