US Stocks Close Mixed As Fed Signals Rate Hike In March

US stocks closed mixed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled a rate hike in March.

The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 129.6 points, or 0.38%, to 34,168, while the S&P 500 fell 6.52 points, or 0.15%, to 4,349.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.8 points, or 0.02%, to 13,542.

The US Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it kept its benchmark overnight interest rate unchanged between 0.00% and 0.25% but signaled a rate hike in March.

"With inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market, the Committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate," the Fed said in a statement.

The bank also noted that it will end tapering, the process of reducing monthly asset purchases, in early March.

With heightened risks in liquidity, the VIX volatility index, known as the fear index, rose 0.16% to 31.21.

The dollar index was up 0.57% to 96.47, while the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes fell 0.93% to 1.853%.

Oil prices continued to rise amid growing tensions in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, fueling concerns about supply disruptions.

Brent crude increased 1.24% to $88.26 per barrel and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude gained 1.53% to $86.91.

Precious metals were down, with gold losing 1.95% to $1,816.40 per ounce and silver slipping 1.62% to $23.510.

Bitcoin climbed 0.74% to $37,139 at 16.10 p.m. EST . -