NewsBreak: S&P Slumps After Fed Cuts Interest Rates

Investing.com - Stocks immediately fell after a divided Federal Reserve decided to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point Wednesday. But losses were quickly being trimmed.

By 2:20 PM ET (18:20 GMT), the S&P 500 was down 0.8%. The Nasdaq Composite was off 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.8%, or 186 points. The index had been off as much as 93 points before the Fed decision.

The Fed's Federal Open Market Committee cut its key federal funds rate to a range of 1.75% to 2% from 2% to 2.25%. The fed funds rate is the rate the Fed wants banks to charge each other for overnight loans. The rate is a key determinant in setting U.S. Interest rates.

The Fed said it moved to ensure the continuation of the economic expansion that began in 2009. Two members of the Fed's rate-making body voted against a change. One wanted to cut the target rate to 1.5% to 1.75%.

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