US stocks whipsaw as the Fed pauses tightening but eyes further hikes later

• Stocks finished mixed after a volatile session that saw big swings after the Fed meeting.
• Policymakers kept rates steady but indicated that two more increases could come later this year.
• Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also said rate cuts would be more appropriate "a couple of years out."

US stock indices finished mixed after a volatile session that saw big swings after the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Central bankers kept rates steady at 5%-5.25% but indicated in their "dot plot" projections that two more increases could come later this year, a more hawkish signal than what Wall Street anticipated.

During his press briefing, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also said progress on slowing core inflation has been insufficient lately and that rate cuts would be more appropriate to consider "a couple of years out."

Meanwhile, policymakers will assess incoming data, including credit conditions that may have a role in tightening macroeconomic conditions, he added.

Here's where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. ET close on Wednesday:

• S&P 500: 4,372.59, up 0.08%
• Dow Jones Industrial Average: 33,979.33, down 0.68% (232.78 points)
• Nasdaq Composite: 13,626.48, up 0.39%

In other news:

• Elon Musk's refusal to pay rent on Twitter's office spaces is pulling down Goldman Sachs' commercial real-estate portfolio.
• Recent market bullishness doesn't displace the threat of a downturn. Here's what JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citi and billionaire Ken Griffin have said.
• Bitcoin is set to double its market share in the long term as regulators weed out a number of tokens and stablecoins, MicroStrategy's Michael Saylor predicted. 
• Nvidia's market gains continue to turn heads, but the "Dean of Valuation" Aswath Damodaran can't justify its price.

In commodities, bonds, and crypto:

• West Texas intermediate crude fell by 0.99% to $68.62 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 1.61% to $72.32.
• Gold dipped 0.1% to to $1,960 per ounce.
• The 10-year Treasury yield fell 4 basis points to 3.80%.
• Bitcoin slipped 0.2% to $25,828.