Wall Street closes down sharply after Fed holds rates unchanged

Wall Street closed sharply lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady. Artificial intelligence-related chip stocks furthered recent declines as the market anticipated quarterly reports from Microsoft and Meta Platforms. This downward trend was highlighted by the Nasdaq 100 index, which marked an 11% decline. The overall market reaction reflects investor anxiety regarding the Fed's policy and the performance of major technology firms ahead of their financial disclosures.