This is what the markets are doing prior to the Fed’s decision on interest rates
Here’s where markets stand before the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.2% around 1:46 p.m. ET, while the S&P 500 inched downward by 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite was slightly positive, with a 0.1% gain.
Treasury yields fell ahead of the central bank’s decision, with the two-year yield at 4.14%, down three basis points. The yield on the 10-year note was 3.547%, declining roughly five basis points.
Oil prices ticked higher. West Texas Intermediate futures and Brent gained roughly 1%.
–Darla Mercado
This is what the Federal Reserve is expected to carry out Wednesday
The Federal Reserve’s decision will arrive at a tense moment for markets as the central bank juggles its efforts to quash inflation while stabilizing the embattled banking sector.
Markets are anticipating the Federal Open Market Committee will push rates higher by 0.25 percentage point on Wednesday afternoon. This would bring the benchmark funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%, the highest level since 2007.
Policymakers will also issue their forecasts for the economy and the terminal rate. The FOMC members will roll out their individual projections for interest rates, known as the dot plot.
The wildcard in this rate decision is the recent distress in the global banking sector: There’s the question of whether the Fed will move forward with a rate hike in the wake of recent bank failures. Alternatively, there have also been instances in the past in which the central bank either paused or trimmed rates only to resume hiking afterward, according to Citi economist Andrew Hollenhorst.
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–Darla Mercado, Jeff Cox
Fed has to walk ‘delicate line’ and will be under added scrutiny, economists say
Economists said Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will have a tricky job this afternoon: balancing the continued need to bat down inflation with rising concerns of instability in banks.
“The Fed still…
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