Firm Fed Hammers the Stock Market

Updated from 2:39 p.m. EDT

Stocks fell sharply Thursday after the Federal Open Market Committee said nothing in an afternoon policy statement to suggest it is nearing the end of its rate-hike campaign.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 99.51 points, or 0.96%, to 10,274.97. The average was down about 6 points before the Fed's rate decision hit. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 fell 8.52 points, or 0.71%, to 1191.33, while the Nasdaq lost 11.93 points, or 0.58%, to 2056.96.

Trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.62 billion shares, with decliners narrowly beating advancers by a 6-to-5 margin. Volume on the Nasdaq was 1.72 billion shares, with decliners outpacing advancers 9 to 7. ...