Global markets update: US stocks steady after Fed lifts interest rate
US stocks were steady on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rate.
The S&P 500 lost 0.71 points, or 0.02%, at 4,566.75. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 82.05 points, or 0.23%, at 35,520.12. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 17.27 points, or 0.12%, at 14,127.28.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a widely expected 25 basis points, marking the 11th hike in the central bank’s past 12 policy meetings.
Fed chair Jerome Powell said that the central bank will make decisions meeting by meeting, closely watching economic data, but noted that a rate cut is very unlikely this year.
Shares of Microsoft fell 3.72% after laying out an aggressive spending plan to meet demand for its new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered services.
Google-parent Alphabet soared 5.78% after its second quarter profit exceeded analysts expectations.
Shares of Meta Platforms gained 1.39% after Alibaba’s cloud unit said it would support the Facebook owner’s open-source AI model Llama.
The yield on the 10-year treasury fell to 3.86% from 3.89% late Tuesday. The 2-year treasury yield sank to 4.85% from 4.88%.
Currencies
The US dollar fell to 139.99 Japanese yen from 141.04. The euro rose to $1.1104 from $1.1045.
Europe
European shares snapped a six-day winning streak on Wednesday.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index shed 0.5%.
Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2% at 7,676.89. Germany’s DAX lost 0.5% at 16,131.46. France’s CAC 40 shed 1.4% at 7,315.07.
Shares of world’s top luxury firm LVMH fell 5.2% as an in-line increase in sales indicated the overall sector was moving towards a less impressive path of growth.
Kering and Hermes dropped 1.8% and 2.4%, respectively.
Christian Dior also lost 4%.
Asia
Asian stock markets were mixed on Wednesday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.4% at 19,365.14. China’s Shanghai Composite lost 0.3% at 3,223.03. Nikkei 225 closed flat at 32,668.34.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.9% higher at 7,402 points. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index settled up 0.2% at 11,954.73.
Energy prices
US crude oil benchmark for September delivery fell 85 cents to $78.78 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude for September delivery fell 72 cents to $82.92 a barrel. Natural gas for August delivery fell 6 cents to $2.67 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Bullion
Gold for August delivery rose $6.40 to $1,970.10 an ounce. Silver for September delivery rose 15 cents to $24.97 an ounce.
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Updated: 27 Jul 2023, 02:21 AM IST
