The Fed is expected to raise rates by 75 basis points, extending its most aggressive tightening campaign since the 1980s. The decision will be announced at 2 p.m. in Washington and Powell will hold a press conference 30 minutes later. He may emphasize policymakers remain steadfast in their inflation fight, while leaving options open for their December gathering.

“Markets want clarity on where the Fed will at least pause the current rate hike cycle, but Chair Powell is not really in any position to provide that just yet,” said Nicholas Colas, co-founder of DataTrek Research. “For every sign the US economy is slowing (housing, commodity prices, retail sales ex-inflation) there are others that say labor market conditions remain strong.”

Very odd and seemingly counterintuitive that stocks should fall on news that the labor market is doing great. But the market wants some level of confidence on when/where rate hikes will eventually stop, and the continued stregth of the economy despite rate increases to-date makes that a very hard question to answer.