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The Federal Reserve's decision to lower interest rates for the third consecutive time on Wednesday has sent ripples through the financial markets. With sticky inflation and resilient economic growth, policymakers are carefully navigating the economic landscape. S&P 500 Futures remained largely unchanged at 5,941.0 points, while Nasdaq 100 Futures inched lower to 21,475.25 points by 19:18 ET (00:18 GMT). Dow Jones Futures showed a marginal increase at 42,827.0 points.

Interest Rate Cuts and Policy Adjustments

The Fed's 25-basis-point cut in interest rates at the end of its two-day meeting brought the borrowing rate to a range of 4.25%-4.50%. Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that further reductions hinge on progress in curbing persistent inflation, indicating policymakers' adjustments in response to potential economic shifts under the incoming Donald Trump administration. Policymakers now anticipate the benchmark rate to fall to 3.9% next year, suggesting only two 25-bps rate cuts compared to the previous September forecast of four cuts.The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) economic projections reveal that inflation is still a distance from its 2% target. The targeted metric is expected to end this year at 2.4% and reach 2.5% next year. Additionally, policymakers expect slightly higher economic growth and lower unemployment next year compared to their three-month-old projections.

Market Reactions and Sector Performance

The prospect of interest rates remaining higher for longer than anticipated led Wall Street indexes to plummet sharply on Wednesday, with significant losses in the technology sector. Investors locked in recent profits in tech stocks after they witnessed a sharp rally over the past week. Market darling NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) fell more than 1%, sinking deeper into correction territory following a 10% decline from its recent peak. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) slumped more than 8%, and Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) lost nearly 6%. Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) shares also plunged 7% on Wednesday.In the aftermarket trade, Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) shares plunged nearly 16% after the company issued a revenue outlook that fell short of analysts' expectations. The S&P 500 declined 3% to 5,872.16 points, while the NASDAQ Composite fell 3.6% to 19,380.87 points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.6% to 42,326.87 points, marking its 10th consecutive session of declines and its longest losing streak since 1974.