In keeping rates unchanged, the Fed cited still-elevated inflation alongside solid economic growth. The US central bank’s policy statement gave little indication of when it might reduce borrowing costs again.
Fed chair Jerome Powell, in comments following the central bank’s statement, dispelled any notion the central bank might consider a rate hike in the near future.
“A steadier job market and sticky inflation made the Fed wait to see how previous rate cuts will support US economic growth,” said Matthias Scheiber, head of the multi-asset team at Allspring Global Investments in London.
“That said, the investment and capital spending boom caused by artificial intelligence and the sharp rise of commodity prices, including industrial metals, might result in a stickier inflation path for this year.”
Markets are not pricing in more than a 50% chance of a rate cut until the Fed’s June meeting, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.
After the Fed statement, the S&P 500 closed virtually unchanged after crossing above 7,000 for the first time during the session. Investors awaited earnings from megacap companies Microsoft, Tesla and Meta Platforms after the closing bell, with results from Apple due on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 12.19 points, or 0.02%, to 49,015.60, the S&P 500 fell 0.57 points, or 0.01%, to 6,978.03 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 40.35 points, or 0.17%, to 23,857.45.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe edged up 0.69 points, or 0.07%, to 1,051.77 after climbing to an intraday record of 1,055.04, marking its third straight intraday record. The index was on track for a sixth straight daily advance, its longest streak since a seven-session run in late December.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.75%, weighed by a drop of about 8% in LVMH after the Louis Vuitton and Tiffany owner reported quarterly results, but CEO Bernard Arnault said he was cautious about the year ahead.
FX watch
The dollar showed signs of steadying after its biggest daily percentage drop since Aug 1, as US President Donald Trump on Tuesday seemed to shrug off its recent weakness, which sent the greenback to a four-year low.
The dollar has stumbled recently on expectations of continued Fed rate cuts this year, tariff uncertainty, policy volatility, including threats to the central bank’s independence, and rising fiscal deficits, all of which have dented investor confidence in US economic stability.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, gained 0.49% to 96.37, but pared gains after the Fed statement, with the euro down 0.78% at US$1.1947 after breaching the US$1.20 mark on Tuesday.
European Central Bank policymakers flagged increasing concerns over the euro’s quick appreciation against the dollar, warning it could drag inflation down even as price growth is already set to undershoot the ECB’s 2% target.
Against the Japanese yen, the dollar strengthened 0.74% to 153.32, while sterling weakened 0.33% to US$1.38.
The US has a strong dollar policy and that means setting the right fundamentals, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said, while denying that Washington was intervening in currency markets to support the yen after the Japanese currency surged against the greenback last week.
The recent dollar weakness has given support to commodities, helping gold hit a record above US$5,300 an ounce. US crude rose 1.31% to settle at US$63.21 a barrel, and Brent settled at US$68.40 per barrel, up 1.23% on the day after hitting a four-month high of US$68.62.