WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve held short-term interest rates steady on Wednesday but signaled intentions to raise them in mid-March.

It’s seen as the latest turn toward removing stimulus to temper elevated inflation.

The central bank is under pressure to respond to inflation that jumped to a four-decade high of 7% in December.

Stocks initially rose Wednesday after the release of the statement, which was largely as-expected, but when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a proceeding Q&A that inflation was more entrenched than the central bank had expected — and that supply chain problems were bigger and more long-lasting than previously thought — stocks ticked lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended trade down about 0.4%, or 130 points, to close at 34,167.10. The S&P 500, the broadest measure of the stock market, closed down 0.15%, but the tech-heavy Nasdaq was able to eke out a gain, rising a hair — or 0.02% — to close at 13.542.12.

Aside from the Fed, also weighing on markets was news that oil prices had crossed $90 a barrel for the first time since 2014 amid escalating tensions between Russia — a major global oil producer — and Ukraine. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken even stepped in to say that the US would make sure global energy supplies weren’t disrupted if Russia invades Ukraine, the New York Post reported.

Story Date: January 27, 2022