Trouble on Wall Street: US market Start the year with two straight delines.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed lower on Wednesday as investors booked profits following a strong finish to the year. The decline came after the release of the minutes from the December meeting of the US Federal Reserve, which did little to ease concerns about the economy. It had been the first time since 2015 that the benchmark index started the year with consecutive losses.

The decline, which was also its worst two-day performance since October, came after the S&P 500 hit a record high last week, as signs of a cooling inflation prompted investors to bet that the US central bank would begin implementing an aggressive rate-cutting program this year. However, investors are still cautious ahead of the year, as they wait to see how quickly these measures might be implemented.

As expected, the Fed is expected to hold its key policy rate at its meeting in January. According to the FedWatch tool, traders see a 67% chance that it will lower its benchmark rate by 25 basis points in March.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s meeting released on Wednesday revealed that policymakers were becoming more confident that inflation was under control. They also expressed growing concern about the potential damage that excessively restrictive monetary policy could do to the economy.

The market did not get a clear answer when the Fed would begin to cut rates. According to Jason Betz, a private wealth advisor with Ameriprise Financial, the lack of transparency is partly why today’s selling is happening. The market wanted to know when the central bank would begin to reduce rates, but it did not get that information.

According to Betz, profit-taking from the previous year’s gains and the recalibration of the year ahead were some of the factors that influenced traders’ thinking.

Rate-sensitive stocks such as Tesla, Apple, and Nvidia were lower. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 were down 1.18% and 0.8%, respectively. The losses were led by losses in tech stocks, which were also weighed down by Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Intel (NASDAQ:INTC), and Amazon.

The rise in oil prices, which was triggered by the disruption of Libya’s top oilfield, pressured the airline stocks. The S&P 1500’s passenger airlines index was down 4%. On the other hand, the energy sector was up 1.5% as crude prices gained. Financials were among the sectors that were trading lower, with shares of Charles Schwab and Blackstone falling 0.8%.

After Goldman Sachs downgraded its rating on some of the stocks, investors sold off their positions. However, Citigroup was able to bounce back and close at its highest level in over two years. The bank was able to gain after an analyst report from Wells Fargo indicated that it could benefit from the improving economic conditions. US stocks had a total volume of 11.84 billion shares.