Investing.com -- U.S. stocks experienced a wild session of unpredictable, volatile trading, paring significant losses after the Federal Reserve provided no clear indications on an imminent interest rate hike midway through Wednesday afternoon, before again falling precipitously near the close.
After completing the roller coaster day of trading came to a halt, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ both fell sharply moving to nearly its lowest level in a month. The S&P 500 Composite index also suffered significant losses, as a massive sell-off in crude stocks and continued instability in China weighed on all three major indices. The Dow fell 162.61 or 0.93% to 17,348.73, while the NASDAQ dropped 40.30 or 0.80% to close Wednesday's session at 5,019.05.
The S&P 500, meanwhile, lost 17.31 or 0.83% to 2,079.61, as eight of 10 sectors closed in the red. Stocks in the Energy, Basic Materials and Industrials sectors lagged, each falling by more than 0.95% on the day.
When the Federal Open Market Committee last met three weeks ago, the minutes from its July meeting showed that the Fed determined that conditions for a hike in short-term interest rates had not yet been achieved. The FOMC appeared to be particularly vague when it came to their forecasts on inflationary growth. The Fed, according to the minutes, said by some objectives the inflation data was "not progressing" toward its targeted goal. Other members, however, said that inflation conditions for a rate hike would be met or could be "met shortly."
Relatively muted gains in the Consumer Price Index for July could appease the dovish viewpoints on the Fed for a delayed rate hike beyond September. On Wednesday morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said its CPI for July ticked up 0.1%, amid record declines in airfare prices. The Core CPI, which strips out food and energy prices, rose by 1.8% on a year-over-year basis after remaining unchanged from June. The Fed has indicated that it could start to raise rates when it is "reasonably confident" that long-term inflation is moving toward its targeted goal of 2%.
The top performer on the Dow was MCD, which rose 0.56% to 101.32. Shares in McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) are now up by nearly 6% over the last year, moving broadly higher since new CEO Steve Easterbrook orchestrated major menu, management and real estate investment changes this spring. The worst performer was CVX, which plunged 2.21 or 2.71% to 81.18. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. crude futures dipped below $41 a barrel to their lowest level in six and a half years.
The biggest gainer on the NASDAQ was DLTR, which rose 1.55 or 1.95% to 80.92. The worst performer was SNDK, which plummeted 2.98 or 5.24% to 53.92. Shares in SanDisk (NASDAQ:SNDK) are now down by more than 38% over the last year.
The top performer on the S&P 500 was SJM, which surged 2.91 or 2.67% to 111.88 after receiving an upgrade by analysts at Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN). The worst performer was MRO, which fell 1.25 or 7.15% to 16.23, as the aftershocks from a refinery shutdown in Kentucky earlier this month continue to be felt.
On the New York Stock Exchange, declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by a 2,317 to 799 margin.