Market Extra: As Fed sets stage for March rate hike, stock-market investors face ‘perilous’ backdrop

Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesInvestors, particularly those reliant on computer-generated decisions to buy or sell, face a treacherous backdrop of volatility driven by the Federal Reserve, following a brutal month of stock trading. January’s violent moves in equities offer a glimpse of what might still be in store: The S&P 500SPX and Nasdaq CompositeCOMP indexes finished the month with their biggest percentage declines since March 2020, while the Dow Jones Industrial...