Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The stock market dropped after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted unanimously to leave the target range for the fed funds rate unchanged at 4.25-4.50%. That was in-line with the decision widely expected by the fed funds futures market.

The S&P 500 shows a 0.9% decline and the Nasdaq Composite trades 1.2% lower.

It was noted in the directive that "Inflation remains somewhat elevated." The last directive in December said the same. What was missing this time was the added statement in the December directive that, "Inflation has made progress toward the Committee's 2 percent objective..."

Also noted in the January directive was that, "...labor market conditions remain solid." In December, the directive observed that, "Since earlier in the year, labor market conditions have generally eased." The directive observed today that "The unemployment rate has stabilized at a low level in recent months," versus the December directive that said, "... the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low."

In aggregate, the January directive was worded properly to fit the decision to leave the target rate for the fed funds rate unchanged.