US markets rise after Fed rate hike — Channel NewsAsia
US stock markets rose on September 17, the day after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates in an effort to curb inflation. Investor sentiment was also supported by lower oil prices, Channel NewsAsia reports.
Federal Reserve decision
The Fed raised borrowing costs for the first time since 2023, despite calls from US President Donald Trump to lower rates. Central bank Chair Kevin Warsh stressed the need to tackle inflation, which, he said, had remained too high for too long.
The decision was unanimous. At the same time, the Fed released a projections chart showing that the overwhelming majority of its officials considered another rate hike likely by the end of the year. This reassured investors: the yield on 10-year US government bonds, described in the report as an important indicator of borrowing costs, remained below 5%.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Oil and supply situation
Oil prices fell sharply at the start of the day before partly recovering. Brent futures ended trading down 1%, at $104.82 per barrel.
The market was influenced by expectations that Saudi Arabia could restore about half of the capacity of the East-West oil pipeline to the Red Sea within several days. It was shut down the previous week after an attack by Yemen's Houthis, whom Channel NewsAsia describes as backed by Iran. Swissquote analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya said that Saudi Arabia had offered Asian refiners additional volumes of crude through ship-to-ship transfers near the Omani port of Sohar.
Meanwhile, shares in London rose after the Bank of England, as expected, left its base rate unchanged. The Bank of Japan, according to widespread forecasts, could raise its rate on September 18 because of high inflation and a weaker yen.
