Fed hikes its benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point, the biggest increase since 1994

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday launched its biggest broadside yet against inflation, raising benchmark interest rates three-quarters of a percentage point in a move that equates to the most aggressive hike since 1994.

Ending weeks of speculation, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee took the level of its benchmark funds rate to a range of 1.5%-1.75%, the highest since just before the Covid pandemic began in March 2020.

Stocks were volatile after the decision but turned higher as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell spoke in his post-meeting news conference.

“Clearly, today’s 75 basis point increase is an unusually large one, and I do not expect moves of this size to be common,” Powell…