Restaurants mixed after Fed keeps rate steady

Shares of restaurants companies were mixed Tuesday after the Federal Reserve decided not to change a key interest rate following alarming moves in the financial services sector that include the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing by Lehman Brothers.

The Fed kept its benchmark federal funds interest rate steady at 2 percent. Much of the overall market dropped following the decision.

The Fed last lowered the rate on April 30 to 2 percent from 2.25 percent. The last time the rate stood below 2 percent was in 2004.

Shares of Darden Restaurants Inc., which operates the Olive Garden and Red Lobster chains, fell 19 cents to $29.33 while shares of McDonald's Corp. rose 49 cents to $64.21.

Starbucks Corp. shares rose 59 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $15.67, while DineEquity Inc. shares jumped $2.34, or 15.3 percent, to $17.65.