Page 14 - Us Fed News Today

The yen this month reached its strongest level since the end of July against the dollar as the Federal Reserve signaled a pivot to rate cuts next year while speculation lingers its Japanese counterpart is prepared to end the worlds last negative interest rate policy. The European Central Bank and Bank of England are also expected to lower interest rates next year as inflationary pressure has subsided.

At the moment, the market is above 4,700, a gain of more than 22%. These forecasts were so deeply off the mark undoubtedly because 2022 was a truly terrible year for stocks - and also one that most analysts totally failed to foresee. So the predictions for 2023 were uncharacteristically modest, reflecting the gloom that prevailed when they were being set.

Going into the final week of 2023 and watching the start of 2024, most of the markets are likely to observe thin volume due to the holiday-curtailed week.

2024 will be a tale of two stories with the first stage in Q12024; the world witnessing a global slowdown and moderation of profit growth, ballooning of global debt and falling consumption due to high-interest rates.

Indian rupee opened little changed against US dollar even as Asian currencies were trading higher.

After a stellar 17 percent return delivered by the Nifty in 2023, market experts and brokerages have mixed views on the indexs performance in the year 2024.

Spot gold was up 1.2% to $2,069.34 per ounce as of 9:43 a.m. ET (1443 GMT), its highest since Dec. 4, putting it on course for a 1.8% weekly gain.

Nifty 50 is set to end 2023 with double-digit gain, marking eighth consecutive year of positive returns. 27 constituents of the index achieved new all-time highs this year.

Move by US central bank has markets anticipating cut in interest rates and that is good news for Hong Kong businesses and borrowers.

Despite the US Federal Reserves hint at lower rates, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) faces challenges with real interest rates, among the lowest in emerging markets. The RBIs 250 basis points rate hike hasnt significantly raised the real rate. Inflation dynamics pose a dilemma for the RBI in setting policy rates, balancing growth, financial stability, and currency considerations to ensure stable interest rates and liquidity.