Stocks jump, dollar drops despite hawkish Fed
23 September 2021
Sentiment was cheerful Thursday morning, and it looks like the recent correction in stocks might be over as dip buyers stepped in, sending equities higher and erasing most of the losses as the Fed supported risk assets by its recent decision.
Yesterday's FOMC message was clear - the central bank is ready to start reducing its asset purchases, and it looks like the first rate hike might actually happen sooner than anticipated.
The tapering process should start in November and be completed in the middle of the following year - a relatively fast process. Additionally, several FOMC members now want the fed funds to start moving higher in 2022, compared to nearly all voting for a 2023 rate hike at the previous meeting. Another hawkish message.
The dollar initially surged after the decision, pushing the EURUSD pair to one-month lows below the 1.17 level, but the whole decline was erased today as EURUSD was last seen near 1.1730.
Other USD pairs were following the same pattern - yesterday's declines were erased, and the greenback came under selling pressure today. However, the USDJPY pair was the only exception, and the buck was stronger against the yen, sending the pair toward 110.
Later in the day, the Bank of England monetary policy decision is due, and investors expect the central bank to leave everything unchanged. However, despite soaring inflation, the BoE will have a hard time raising rates as economic data in the country deteriorated notably.