The markets were chopping sideways today, but the Fed announcement sent stocks lower. SPX traded off strongly in the last hour of trading today, losing $27 to close at $2002. RUT also traded off $20, closing at $1175. Volatility jumped in that last hour, with VIX closing the day at 20.4%, up over three points.

Trading volume spiked higher with 2.7 billion shares of the S&P 500 trading today. Trading volume rose 22% on the NYSE and rose 10% on NASDAQ.

Oil traded lower and the dollar continued to strengthen. This is fueling some concerns about currency effects on multi-nationals in coming weeks. But those effects didn't seem to hold back AAPL's performance. Did you see those iPhone sales numbers? It made me wonder what's wrong with me since I still have my iPhone 4s. Apparently everyone is trading up and I am two upgrade cycles behind.

It seemed as though the FOMC announcement spooked the markets, but it isn't obvious to me if that was really cause and effect. The Fed continues to emphasize that it will remain patient about raising interest rates, and the Fed's latest announcement appeared to strengthen their assessment of the economy. It seems that traders remain wary of a global slowdown and its effects on this economy. One thing's for sure - this is a dicey market to trade.