Stocks extended their run of losses Thursday, as investors reacted with disappointment to decisions from central banks around the world. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was down in early trading, adding to a decline that has wiped more than 9 percent off the benchmark just this month. Investors had been looking for the Federal Reserve to indicate that it would moderate the pace of monetary tightening because of growing concern about the economic outlook. Instead, the Fed increased rates by a quarter-point on Wednesday and said it will keep doing so while also shrinking the extraordinary amount of support it has provided to financial markets. The Fed cited the strength of the United States economy, which has remained healthy even as global growth shows signs of slowing.

Source: New York Times December 20, 2018 10:01 UTC