Federal Reserve officials held interest rates steady, pausing to assess the inflation outlook following a string of rate reductions last year.

U.S. stocks are edging lower after the Federal Reserve opted not to cut interest rates for the first time since it began trying to help the economy in September. The

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, amid a cloudy economic outlook, partly because some of President Trump’s policies could stymie the fight against inflation. Wednesday’s pause comes after the central bank cut interest rates by a full percentage point between September and December of last year.