Wall Street closes down sharply after Fed holds rates unchanged

Wall Street ended sharply lower on Wednesday (Jul 29) after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, with AI-related chip stocks adding to recent declines ahead of quarterly reports from Microsoft and Meta Platforms and the Nasdaq 100 index marking an 11 per cent drop from its June record high. The Fed's widely expected decision to leave the benchmark interest rate in the 3.50 to 3.75 per cent range drew dissents from three of the 12 members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee who "preferred" a quarter-percentage-point hike at this meeting. The benchmark S&P 500 hit its lowest level in a month, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index was down about 9 per cent from its June record high. The Nasdaq 100 index dropped 2.1 per cent, extending recent losses as investor