The verdict is in: interest rates are not budging. In a widely expected move, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announced on Wednesday that rates would be held at a target range of 5.25-5.50%. The wording of the statement led some to believe a future rate hike wasn’t as certain as previously thought. Odds of a December rate hike sit at only 20% as of the time of writing.
The less hawkish position was a welcome one for stocks. The announcement pushed the Nasdaq Composite to close 1.64% higher on Wednesday, which it repeated the following day raising 1.78%. The Dow Jones has gained almost 800 points in the last two days, rising to 33,839 on Thursday’s close. The S&P 500 also performed well, gaining 1.05% and 1.89% over the past two sessions.
On the other side of the Pacific, the Nikkei 225 was equally optimistic, finishing 2.41% in the black on Wednesday and gaining a further percent on Thursday. Speaking of Japan, USDJPY made an attempt to regain the 150 level, ultimately falling short with a 150.4 close yesterday.
The Dollar in general wasn’t quite as bullish as we’ve seen recently after the FOMC meeting, although the Euro and Cable have yet to make any significant moves to reverse their recent downtrends. Gold was also unable to capitalise as it languished around $1985 for most of this week. Still no real geopolitical signals to push it one way or another.
