County Jerome Financial News

US Federal Reserve was a bit dovish in its policy meeting. The local currency opened 7 paise higher at 83.21 a dollar as compared to previous close of 83.28. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.51% lower at 106.34.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but left the door open to a further increase in borrowing costs in a policy statement that acknowledged the U.S. economy’s surprising strength, but also nodded to the tighter financial conditions faced by businesses and households.

Investing.com-- Oil prices jumped from a one-month low in Asian trade on Thursday as weak U.S. economic readings and middling comments from the Federal Reserve saw traders pricing in a diminished chance of more interest rate hikes, denting the dollar.

Investing.com-- Most Asian stocks rose on Thursday, buoyed by a rally in the technology sector as somewhat middling comments from the Federal Reserve spurred bets that the central bank was done with its run of interest rate hikes. 

Asian shares and bonds extended a global rally on Thursday as a non-committal Federal Reserve Chair had markets double down on bets that U.S. interest rates have peaked and cuts are on the way. Investors are now awaiting the results from Apple later in the day, a bellwether for consumer demand and the tech sector.

Gold prices edged higher on Thursday, as the U.S. dollar and bond yields slipped after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady and acknowledged the tighter financial conditions faced by businesses and households. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was up 0.2% to $1,985.99 per ounce by 0147 GMT and U.S.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell dashed any hopes for a rate cut in the near future and said that the central bank is not «at all» thinking of the possibility currently.

Treasury yields as markets grew more convinced the Federal Reserve was done with its aggressive monetary policy tightening cycle after it left rates unchanged. The Fed on Wednesday held interest rates steady as widely expected, as policymakers struggled to determine whether financial conditions may be sufficiently tight to control inflation. However, Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that a recent market-driven rise in Treasury bond yields, home mortgage rates and other financing costs could have their own impact on the economy as long as they persist. The decision lifted sentiment in Wall Street, which spilled over into the Asia day, giving a small boost to the risk-sensitive Australian and New Zealand dollars. The Aussie rose 0.5% to a three-week high of $0.6426, while the kiwi similarly jumped more than 0.5% to hit a two-week top of $0.58825. The dollar edged broadly lower alongside U.S. Treasury yields which touched multi-week lows in early Asia trade.

Wall Street's major indexes closed higher on Wednesday with the Nasdaq's 1.6% advance leading gains, after the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and comments from its top official fueled investor optimism rate hikes were done even though the central bank left the door open for more. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said policy makers would proceed carefully although they were not yet confident financial conditions were restrictive enough to get inflation as low as the central bank would like. Trading was choppy at the start of Powell's press conference but the major equity indexes started to regain lost ground after about 20 minutes, then went on to hit session highs. This was because the Fed's top official «wasn't as assertive about higher-for-longer» rates as he has been in past press conferences, according to Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. Charlie Ripley, senior investment strategist for Allianz Investment Management, wrote that while there is still a potential risk for the Fed to raise rates again, Powell's commentary suggests that «the bar has become higher for rate hikes.» Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda wrote that while Powell insisted he was keeping options open for a hike «he didn't seem very convincing.» The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 221.71 points, or 0.67%, to 33,274.58, the S&P 500 gained 44.06 points, or 1.05%, to 4,237.86 and the Nasdaq Composite added 210.23 points, or 1.64%, to 13,061.47. Among the S&P 500's 11 major sectors only two lost ground with energy falling 0.3% while consumer staples edged down 0.06%.

US Fed outcome. Markets would react to the Fed's interest rate decision and economic data to be released during the day. «The comments from Chair Jerome Powell will take the spotlight as it will provide insights into Fed’s next move. Also, investors would watch out for BOE’s interest rate decision to be announced on Thursday,» said Siddhartha Khemka, Head — Retail Research, Motilal Oswal. Here's breaking down the pre-market actions: STATE OF THE MARKETS GIFT Nifty (Earlier SGX Nifty) signals a positive start GIFT Nifty on the NSE IX traded lower by 33.5 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 19,218.50, signaling that Dalal Street was headed for positive start on Thursday.

Jerome Powell holds a press conference after the U.S. central bank made a decision on interest rates.

US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged. Hopes that the US central bank is done with rate hikes fueled optimism among investors. The domestic equity indices ended lower on Wednesday, extending their losses for the second consecutive session.

Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but left the door open to a further increase in borrowing costs in a policy statement that acknowledged the US economy's surprising strength, but also nodded to the tighter financial conditions faced by businesses and households. «Economic activity expanded at a strong pace in the third quarter,» the US central bank said in a policy statement after a two-day meeting in which officials unanimously agreed to leave the benchmark overnight interest rate in the 5.25-5.50% range where it has been since July. The language marked an upgrade to the «solid pace» of activity the Fed saw as of its September meeting, and followed on recent data that showed US gross domestic product grew at a 4.9% annual rate in the third quarter. Though markets think the Fed may be done raising its policy rate, with financial conditions tightening on their own through higher market-based interest rates, data pointing to a stronger-than-expected economy and labor market have kept the prospect of another hike on the table. The Fed's latest statement noted that with job gains still «strong» and inflation still «elevated», the central bank continues to consider «the extent of additional policy firming that may be appropriate to return inflation to 2% over time.» Fed Chair Jerome Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m.

Historically, a Santa rally happens in the weeks leading up to Christmas when a collective sense of goodwill bleeds into equity markets. This is typically a seasonal blip and nothing to write home about. But this year, we could see a far more significant rally as the United States Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and BlackRock line up to deliver a bonanza of holiday cheer.

Investing.com — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell answers reporters' questions following the FOMC's decision on interest rates. — Nov. 1, 2023

Investing.com — The oil bull has come up for gasping for air after October’s sinking of crude prices — and isn’t finding relief from a Federal Reserve indicating that current US interest rates may not be high enough to effectively curb inflation.

By Yasin Ebrahim

Blue chip cryptocurrencies have been choppy on Wednesday, with the US Federal Reserve just issuing its latest monetary policy decision, in which it decided to leave interest rates unchanged at 5.25-5.5% whilst leaving the door open to further interest rates hikes, should they be required.

US Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision today after a two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting and left the benchmark interest rates unchanged at 5.25 per cent - 5.50 per cent. The Fed's decision to keep its benchmark lending rate between 5.25 percent and 5.50 percent gives policymakers time to "assess additional information and its implications for monetary policy," the central bank said in a statement.

By Amruta Khandekar and Shashwat Chauhan

Following the European Central Bank (ECB)'s decision to conclude its string of consecutive interest rate hikes and maintain its rates at the current level, the financial world's attention has shifted to the Federal Reserve.