03:50 PM EST, 12/18/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes were on track to close lower Wednesday after the Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark lending rate by 25 basis points and flagged fewer cuts ahead than projected in September.

The Nasdaq Composite was down 3.2% at 19,476.3, while the S&P 500 fell 2.3% to 5,909.9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.9% to 42,629.3. All sectors were lower, led by consumer discretionary.

The central bank's Federal Open Market Committee cut interest rates to a range of 4.25% to 4.50%, in line with Wall Street's expectations.

The FOMC's updated Summary of Economic Projections showed that members raised their median federal funds rate outlook for 2025 to 3.9% from 3.4% projected in September. The rate projection was increased to 3.4% from 2.9% for 2026 and to 3.1% from 2.9% for 2027.

The US 10-year yield surged 11.9 basis points to 4.50%, while the two-year rate jumped 11.1 basis points to 4.35%.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 0.2% at $70.22 a barrel.