The market didn't like what it heard from the Fed and its new leader Kevin Warsh

The Wednesday afternoon decline in the S & P 500 after Federal Reserve officials signaled possible interest rate hikes to tamp down inflation accelerated into the close. While the Fed opted to keep rates unchanged at the end of Kevin Warsh 's first monetary policy meeting as Fed chairman, it was the so-called dot-plot of what central bankers see for rates and the economy that spooked the markets. The S & P 500 closed down 1.2%, as bond yields rose. The 10-year Treasury yield rose back to nearly 4.5% as nine members of the FOMC thought the fed funds rate would end 2026 higher than the current range of 3.5% to 3.75%. The FOMC, or the Federal Open Market Committee, is the central bank's policymaking committee. There were 18 of 19 possible dots offered, with one member not issuing projections. During his post-meeting news conference, Warsh confirmed that he was the one who "refrained from offering any projections," which was in line with his past commentary about the Fed's need to refrain from forward guidance. Given that the FOMC also upwardly revised its near-term outlook for inflation, Warsh was asked why they didn't opt to increase rates this time around. He shut that line of inquiry down, directing the questioner back to the statement released by the Fed. Markets and investors are wondering whether that interaction signals a shift to a reluctance to improvise and add to the prepared statements. It was Warsh's first time at bat, so we'll have to see. …