Dow slides nearly 800 points after Fed meeting amid oil inflation

Stocks tumbled after the Federal Reserve concluded a two-day policy meeting March 18 with no change to interest rates, citing uncertainty from the war in Iran and concerns about inflation.

The Dow and the S&P 500 fell to their lowest levels since November, down 1.6% and 1.4% respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 1.5%.

Bonds tumbled, with the 10-year U.S. note up nearly 6 basis points to about 4.26%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions, and investors have been selling bonds as inflation heats up. Earlier in the morning, a measure of whole price inflation was hotter than analysts had expected.

Meanwhile, prices for oil and gas remain stubbornly high. Brent crude was trading around $105 a barrel at the close of the day on Wall Street, up nearly 6%, and the nationwide average for a gallon of gas is now $3.86, GasBuddy’s tracker showed.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell stressed the uncertainty caused by the war in Iran as a major reason for the Fed to stand pat on interest rates.

On Wednesday, Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” the VIX Composite, spiked nearly 10%.