Materials Flat After Fed Statement -- Materials Roundup

Shares of miners and other commodities producers were more or less flat after the Federal Reserve warned that it expected inflation to pick up this year.

In the last policy move overseen by Chairwoman Janet Yellen, the central bank left rates unchanged but increased its forecast for inflation. That caused the yield on the 10-year Treasury note to rise again, spurring a flight from risky investments. But the riskier end of the stock market stabilized later in the session, as Ms. Yellen completed her term much as she has conducted policy throughout: telegraphing the Fed's intentions to hike rates in the future without taking any drastic moves in the short term.

"The Fed appears to be sticking to the plan of slowly and methodically lifting rates and removing policy accommodation without disrupting markets," said Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management, in an e-mailed response to the Fed statement. Mr. Ripley anticipates three hikes this year, although he said there could be some divisions on the central bank's policy-setting committee over hikes in the coming months.

--Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2018 16:17 ET (21:17 GMT)