The long-awaited rate hike is here

The U.S. Federal Reserve confirmed an interest rate hike in a bid to combat surging inflation which most recently topped 40-year highs of 7.9%. The quarter percentage point rise, which is the first in more than three years, was widely expected by investors and had largely been priced into equity markets. What was less expected was the central bank's forecast of six additional hikes this year, three more than forecasted, as increased oil prices begin to bleed into inflation data. Stocks initially gave back previous intraday gains on the news but rebounded back again to finish strongly up for the day.