SYDNEY, Sept 22 (Reuters) – The dollar surged to a fresh two-decade high and stocks slid on Thursday with investors unsettled by the Federal Reserve’s aggressive outlook for U.S. interest rates and braced for more hikes across Europe later in the day.
The euro fell to a 20-year low in the Asia session, the yen to a 24-year trough and sterling to its lowest since 1985. Russia mobilising reservists for war in Ukraine added to the sombre mood.
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Japan Keeps Rates Ultra-low, Defying Global Race To Tighten
TOKYO, Sept 22 (Reuters) – The Bank of Japan kept ultra-low interest rates on Thursday and vowed to hold them there to support economic growth as it swam against a global tide of monetary tightening by central banks fighting to rein in soaring inflation.
The decision came after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered its third straight rate increase of 75 basis points on Wednesday and signaled more hikes, underscoring its resolve not to let up in its battle against inflation.
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Morning Bid: Markets ‘Fed Up’
A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Anshuman Daga
No pain, no gain.
That seems to be message from the Fed as it gave sobering projections and set the ground for its policy rate to rise at a faster pace and to a higher level than expected.
That sent Asian stocks crumbling to two-year lows, the dollar to a fresh two-decade high and Treasury yields higher.
BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, expects the Fed to raise rates few more times, with data determining the “veracity” of that and how much longer they will have to go.
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Analysis: No Relief For Bruised Markets As Fed Signals Higher Rates For Longer
NEW YORK, Sept 22 (Reuters) – A Federal Reserve dead-set on fighting inflation is leaving little hope that this year’s rocky markets will end anytime soon, as policymakers signal rates rises faster and higher than many investors were expecting.
The Fed lifted rates by an expected 75 basis points and signaled that its policy rate would rise by 4.4% by year end and top out at 4.6% by the end of 2023, a steeper and longer trajectory than markets had priced in.
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U.S. Lawmakers Pile Pressure On Big Banks Over China Ties, Taiwan
WASHINGTON, Sept 22 (Reuters) – Top U.S. bankers came under pressure from lawmakers on Wednesday to take a tougher stance on doing business with China amid growing tensions between Washington and Beijing over Taiwan’s sovereignty and China’s human rights record.
During a hearing before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Republican congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer pressed bank chief executives on how they would respond in the hypothetical event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
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