Fed Chair Powell Voices Inflation Worries

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Here's your closing bell brief for Wednesday, March 18th. I'm Julie Chang for The Wall Street Journal. U.S. stocks fell across the board today after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell warned of an energy shock. He also said service inflation remains at frustrating levels, making a rate cut this year seem less likely. Fed officials voted today to keep interest rates between 3.5% and 3.75%.

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Treasury yields moved higher as inflation fears grew. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.7%. The Nasdaq lost 1.5%. And the S&P 500 dropped 1.4%.

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Powell also suggested he might serve longer than planned as chair if his successor hasn't yet been confirmed. Brent crude prices jumped 3.8 percent to over $107 a barrel after Israel struck an Iranian gas field. Among individual stocks, Macy's shares closed up over 4% today. The company said its Bloomingdale's brand unexpectedly boosted sales. Shares of Williams Sonoma closed up more than 1%.

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The retailer grew its market share despite reporting lower quarterly profits. Shares of Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines rallied around 12% after activist investor Elliott Investment Management revealed a stake in it. Unilever shares fell more than 4% after reports suggested the company is considering spinning off its food assets.

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And Coherent stock closed up over 4%, while Lumentum saw a nearly 8% jump. The fiber-optic companies, both backed by NVIDIA, are due to join the S&P 500 later this month. Heads up, an artificial intelligence tool helped us make this episode by creating summaries that were based on WSJ reporting and then reviewed and adapted by an editor.