Fed’s Fourth Rate Hike by 0.25% Causes A Market Downturn
Fed finally raised interest rate by 0.25% just like what markets had expected, still, the hike caused the market to plunge even further.
After a two-day meeting, the Federal Reserve had decided to raise its interest rate from 2.25% to 2.50% despite the volatility in markets and waves of tweet from the US President Donald Trump to call off the hike. The move marked the fourth increase this year by the U.S. central bank and the ninth since it began normalizing rates in December 2015.
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell still mentioned that “inflation has still remained just a touch below two percent.” He agreed that the sign of “softening” global growth had appeared, while anticipated that the US economy would slow next year.
Fresh economic forecasts showed officials at the median now see only two more rate hikes next year compared to the three projected in September. On the other hand, the investors predicted only one hike next year, and zero hike in 2020.
The selloff came right after the announcement which caused Dow Jones to plunge 352 points or 1.49% at the closing bell. S&P 500 fell 1.54%, while NASDAQ slumped 2.17%
At 8:40 in Thailand, NIKKEI fell 0.86%, HSI dipped 0.55%, ASX 200 skidded 0.07% and KOSPI downed 0.59%, while SSEC closed for the day.