Not long ago, this week’s Federal Reserve meeting looked like a nonevent. Having begun to raise rates from near zero in December, the central bank was expected to stand pat in January while signaling more increases later on.

Now, after a bone-jarring start to 2016, many investors hope the Fed is having second thoughts about hiking rates three or four more times this year. That raises the stakes around what the central bank says in the statement it will release Wednesday afternoon.

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