Global markets tank on concerns over Federal Reserve meeting

Global markets were down this morning over concerns about the U.S. Federal Reserve’s attitude toward monetary policy. On Wednesday, the central bank released meeting minutes which showed division over how long it should continue its stimulative policy of quantitative easing.

“We’ve had such a strong run that the market used that as a pivot-point,” says Susan Schmidt, head of U.S. equities at Mesirow Financial, who says that investors are now moving funds out of stocks.

According to Schmidt, there is little chance the Fed will abandon quantitative easing anytime in the next year. “The market is using this as an excuse to have people move to the sidelines and take a breather,” she says.