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Investing.com — Stocks sold off on Tuesday as investors awaited the outcome of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting, and hoped for direction on where interest rates are headed.

surging oil prices drive inflation and set the scene for the Federal Reserve to project interest rates staying higher for longer. Brent crude futures eased from 10-month highs overnight but at $94.26 a barrel are up 30% in three months thanks to Saudi Arabia and Russia vowing to extend output cuts. Higher energy costs led to a bigger-than-expected spike in Canadian inflation, overnight data showed, lifting the loonie and triggering selling in the Treasury market. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields hit their highest since 2007 at 4.371% overnight and were last at 4.36%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.2%, as did Japan's Nikkei. Overnight on Wall Street the S&P 500 also slipped 0.2%. Futures pricing implies almost no chance of a Fed hike at 1800 GMT, but traders, who have begun winding back bets on cuts in 2024 and will be closely focused on the U.S.

China's economic slowdown has rippled through Asia. Tourists aren't flocking to Thai beaches or Singaporean malls in the numbers anticipated. Factories are struggling, and there are questions about whether Beijing can bankroll public works in the manner to which the neighborhood has become accustomed. One glaring omission from the list of spillovers: interest-rate cuts. Despite the country's heft, China's travails aren't translating into easing in its backyard.

But investors are likely to focus less on what policymakers do Wednesday — and more on what they say about the future. Wall Street will closely watch whether Fed policymakers expect to make another interest rate increase before the end of the year or whether they are edging closer to the next phase in their fight against rapid inflation. Central bankers have already raised interest rates to a range of 5.25%-5.5%, the highest level in 22 years.

Federal Reserve kicks off a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday with officials widely expected to keep interest rates on hold for now, but also flagging in new economic projections whether they feel rates still need to rise further before the end of the year. A new policy statement and interest rate decision will be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m.

Investing.com — The Dow closed lower Tuesday, as Treasury yields rose to their highest level in more than a decade on fresh inflation concerns as investors awaited the Federal Reserve monetary policy update due Wednesday.

As often has been the case, this week's Federal Reserve meeting will be less about what policymakers are doing now than what they expect to be doing in the future.

Federal Reserve kicks off a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday with officials widely expected to keep interest rates on hold for now, but also flagging in new economic projections whether they feel rates still need to rise further before the end of the year. A new policy statement and interest rate decision will be released at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT) on Wednesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell scheduled to hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. to elaborate. Investors in contracts tied to the federal funds rate consider it a near certainty the U.S. central bank will leave the benchmark federal funds rate at the current range of between 5.25% and 5.5%, a step consistent with the Fed's shift to a slower and more considered pace of rate increases. From March 2022 through May 2023 the Fed raised rates at 10 successive meetings — by anywhere from a quarter to three quarters of a point — as it fought the worst rise of inflation since the early 1980s. In June the Fed paused, but the quarterly economic projections accompanying that decision showed 12 of 18 policymakers still anticipated two more quarter-point rate increases by the end of the year.

The Federal Reserve is confronting a familiar nemesis as it tries to pilot the economy into a rarely-seen soft landing: rising oil prices.

As Federal Reserve officials conclude their two-day meeting on Wednesday, it is widely anticipated that interest rates will remain unchanged.

Since Federal Reserve officials last met in July, the economy has moved in the direction they hoped to see: Inflation continues to ease, if more slowly than most Americans would like, while growth remains solid and the job market cools

Investing.com — U.S. stock futures traded marginally higher Tuesday, as investors readied for the highly-anticipated two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting.

By Howard Schneider

US Federal Reserve will opt to maintain its current interest rates during the meeting on September 19-20 despite persistent inflation levels exceeding the central bank's target range while the US economy remains resilient. The two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting begins today (September 19) and its outcome is due on Wednesday (September 20). The US Fed has been raising rates since March 2022 and this could be the second time since then that the Fed may maintain a pause on interest rate hikes.

Investing.com — Oil bulls pressed ahead Monday with the momentum they had gained in the past three weeks, closing in on the Saudi wish for triple-digit pricing, as markets awaited the Federal Reserve’s verdict on U.S. inflation creeping again from high energy costs.

On the eve of recessions in 1990, 2001 and 2007, many Wall Street economists proclaimed the U.S. was on the cusp of achieving a soft landing, in which interest-rate increases corralled inflation without causing a recession. Similarly, this summer’s combination of easing inflation and a cooling labor market has fueled optimism among economists and Federal Reserve officials that this elusive goal might be in reach.

By Stella Qiu

After forming successive Doji candlestick patterns on the weekly chart for the past three weeks, Bitcoin (BTC) is on target to end the week on a positive note. This is an early sign that the uncertainty between the bulls and the bears is resolving to the upside.

The Federal Open Market Committee will keep rates steady in the 5.25% to 5.5% range at its Sept. 19-20 meeting, the survey showed, and remain there until a first cut next May – two months later than the economists’ view in July. Policymakers are likely to forecast one additional rate hike this year in the so-called dot plot contained in their quarterly Summary of Economic Projections, as they upgrade their view of the US economic outlook.

Former President Donald Trump complained that interest rates are too high and indicated that if he gets another term in office, he might pressure Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to loosen monetary policy.

The upcoming week will play a pivotal role in shaping the Federal Reserve's outlook for interest rates. In what is expected to be one of the most important Fed policy decisions of the year, the U.S. central bank is widely expected to pause its rate hiking campaign at the conclusion of its FOMC meeting on Wednesday at 2:00 PM ET.