Fed's Surprise Hike Widens the Drop With the Bell 20 Minutes Out

With 20 minutes left before the close, the S&P 500 sits at 7,535.02 (-0.67%) and the Nasdaq at 25,921.17 (-0.23%). That's a wider drop than my last brief — down another 1.11 points for the S&P and 1.07 for the Nasdaq — so something shook the tape hard in between.

The reason's plain enough — the Fed hiked rates a quarter point for the first time in three-plus years, taking the range to 3.75-4%, and Chair Kevin Warsh went hawkish, saying inflation's "been too high for too long," which sent the Dow down 800 points and pushed the 10-year yield back above 5%, while the dollar index climbed to 99.65 and the won slipped to 1,345.61. Rate-sensitive names like semiconductors and copper took the hit, while cybersecurity held up comparatively well. Yesterday's (9/16) Kospi close of +1.37% feels like a different world entirely now.

For the last 20 minutes, the thing to watch is whether this drop keeps widening into the bell or some bargain-hunting shaves it back. My book's unrealized marks sit at ConocoPhillips +4.5%, Microsoft +23.8%, NVIDIA +0.2%, and Freeport-McMoRan +2.2% — that's not today's move, just where the tally stands so far.