- US stocks climbed Monday as the Fed announced its decision to keep interest rates unchanged.
- Bond yields ticked lower, with the 10-year Treasury yield slipping 11 basis-points.
- The fed funds rate remains in the range of 5.25%-5.50%, the highest level since 2001.
US stocks closed higher on Wednesday as investors took in the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision.
All three benchmark indexes ended the day with gains, while the yield on the 10-year US Treasury slid 11 basis points to around 4.76%.
Fed officials chose to keep interest rates level at their November policy meeting, in-line with investors’ expectations. The Fed funds rate is still in the 5.25%-5.5% range, the highest interest rates have been since 2001.
In a press conference following the meeting, Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed to the tightness of financial conditions, but left the door to another potential rate hike open.
“While we expected Powell to talk tough and do his best to keep markets from taking the two successive ‘skips’ in interest rate hikes as a green light for risk assets, we were surprised at how detailed he has been in his language that the Fed is still worried about inflation and wouldn’t hesitate to raise rates again in the near future,” Independent Advisor Alliance CIO Chris Zaccarelli said in a statement.
Meanwhile, markets took in the Treasury’s quarterly refunding statement this morning, where the department detailed its plans to issue a mix of short- and long-term government bonds. The department will issue $776 billion of US Treasurys will be issued this quarter, followed by $816 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
Here’s where US indexes stood at the 4:00 p.m. closing bell on Wednesday:
Here’s what else happened today:
In commodities, bonds, and crypto:
- West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.16% to $80.89 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped to $84.98 a barrel.
- Gold slipped 0.35% to $1,987.50 per ounce.
- The 10-year Treasury slid 11 basis points, trading at 4.763%.
- Bitcoin jumped 0.42% to $34,615.
