Federal Reserve officials paused their series of interest-rate hikes but projected borrowing costs will go higher than previously expected, owing to what Chair Jerome Powell called surprisingly persistent inflation and labor-market strength.
Federal Reserve officials paused their series of interest-rate hikes but projected borrowing costs will go higher than previously expected, owing to what Chair Jerome Powell called surprisingly persistent inflation and labor-market strength.
Stocks Gain, Yields Pare Rise After Fed Stands Pat: Markets Wrap
Bloomberg 4 days ago Olivia Raimonde and Lu Wang
(Bloomberg) Stocks rose to record highs and yields on longer-maturity U.S. debt retreated from more than one-year highs after the Federal Reserve continued to project near-zero interest rates at least through 2023 despite rising inflation concerns.
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The yield on the benchmark 10-year note retreated from its highs of the day as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated that the central bank wants to see inflation moderately above 2% and said the recent move higher in yields wasn’t disorderly. The S&P 500 climbed to the highest level on record, led by the consumer discretionary, industrial and materials sectors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also closed at an all-time high.
Stocks Slump Amid Inflation Concern; Oil Tumbles: Markets Wrap
Bloomberg 3 days ago Claire Ballentine and Vildana Hajric
(Bloomberg) Stocks fell from record highs, oil slumped and Treasury yields touched some of the highest levels in more than a year amid concern the Federal Reserve risks letting inflation accelerate.
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The rout in risk assets picked up in the afternoon, starting with a selloff in crude. Oil plunged 8% on concern new restrictions in Europe will hamper demand. Two weeks ago it soared past $65 a barrel to the highest in almost two years.
The spike in Treasury yields dented demand for tech shares with high valuations, sending the Nasdaq 100 Index tumbling 3.1%. Swings in asset prices also picked up as they often do around major expirations of options and futures contracts, such as tomorrow’s ‘quadruple witching’ event.
Powell, With Year to Run at Fed, Aims to Avoid Past QE Mistake
Bloomberg 1/26/2021 Rich Miller
(Bloomberg) Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell heads into what could be his last year atop the central bank determined not to repeat the mistake he made when he was a neophyte monetary policy maker seven years ago.
Then a Fed governor, Powell was among those leading the charge to scale back the central bank’s quantitative-easing program a stance that led to the economically debilitating and market-wrenching taper tantrum of 2013.
Powell, whose four-year term as chair ends in February 2022, is likely to sound more cautious this week about curbing the Fed’s massive asset purchases even though the economic outlook has brightened further thanks to an expected big budgetary boost from President Joe Biden.