Federal Reserve revealed it could raise interest rates HIGHER and faster than expected to stave off rampant inflation

Wall Street's major stock indexes were falling on Tuesday, after the Federal Reserve warned it could speed up its interest rate hikes if inflation continues to run rampant.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 398 points, or 1.19%, to 33,033, while the benchmark S&P 500 lost 0.87% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite dropped 0.40%.

Inflation and and the Fed's attempts to tame it by cooling the economy through rate hikes have been at the center of Wall Street's sharp swings this year.