Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome Powell holds a news conference after the Fed raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on interest rate policy in Washington, March 22, 2023.Here are the most important news items that investors need to start their trading day:The Federal Reserve is expected to increase its benchmark interest rate Wednesday afternoon, as policy-making officials wrap up a two-day meeting.
But as is usually the case on Fed decision days, the market will want to know more about what's next. There are plenty of strong indications the Fed may pause hikes here, especially as the economy processes a banking crisis that has already brought down three large U.S. financial institutions.