Fed decision looms, futures slip, AMD reports - what's moving markets
Investing.com -- Attention is fixed on the Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement on Wednesday, with investors expecting the central bank to keep borrowing costs steady. Comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be in the spotlight following the decision as markets attempt to gauge where officials see policy heading in the future. Elsewhere, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) unveils its projection for 2024 sales of its key AI-optimized chip.
1. Fed decision looms
All eyes are set to turn to Washington, where the Federal Reserve is due to deliver its latest interest rate decision later on Wednesday.
The U.S. central bank's Federal Open Market Committee is widely tipped to leave the all-important Fed funds rate unchanged at a target range of 5.25% to 5.50% after its two-day meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
As a result, markets will likely be paying particularly close attention to the Fed's accompanying policy statement and Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting news conference, with traders hungry for any insight into how officials see rates evolving.
Powell has recently hinted at the tightrope the Fed must walk as it attempts to hike policy to a level that will cool inflation but not cause broader malaise in the U.S. economy. Powell may be pressed to comment on how long the Fed will keep rates elevated, particularly in the wake of a spike in U.S. Treasury yields to near 16-year highs that has weighed heavily on stocks over the past two months.
«The sharp move higher in longer-dated Treasury yields has created a meaningful tightening of financial conditions,» analysts at ING said in a note. «This affords the Fed time to wait and assess whether its policy is restrictive enough to bring
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