Stocks lost their edge after Jay Powell lifted rates with another 25 bps and vowed to halt hikes for now.

The Nasdaq Composite ticked lower by 0.5% after the Federal Reserve announced another moderate rate hike of 25 bps. The tech-heavy index’s peers also finished the day lower – the Dow lost 0.8% while the S&P 500 tumbled 0.7%. What are some of the key takeaways from Fed Day?

Fed Chairman Jay Powell warned that the central bank is prepared to do more (think more rate bumps) in case inflation remains stubborn. The good news for the markets – no more interest rate increases are planned for 2023. The not so good news – no rate cuts are on the menu, either.

While the rate lift was largely baked into the performance of asset classes, market participants were hoping to hear about at least a couple of rate cuts by the end of the year. With no such good fortune to befall markets, liquidity is bound to be tight and the fallout in the banking sector more likely to spill further.