Stocks rose across the world on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning after the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) held U.S. interest rates stable yesterday. Though the FOMC did note its confidence in economic growth, it was not enough to make the move this month. They also lowered expectations for future interest rate hikes, expecting only two hikes annually in the coming two years. Wednesday’s meeting kept U.S. interest rates at 0.25 to 0.5 percent, though three out of ten of the Fed voters came out in favor of a quarter percent rate hike.
In her speech following the two-day policy meeting, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen outlined some economic risks that she sees looming, including downside risk in the labor market and inflation that continues to remain below the Fed’s 2 percent target.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand also voted to keep interest rates stable at its current 2.0 percent, but kept the door open for easing in the future.
The Currency Markets Respond
Following the Fed announcement, the dollar fell against its primary trading partners, with the dollar index falling to 95.426. The yen rose against the greenback to a high of 102.78 before falling to 100.19 during Thursday’s Asian session.
The Australian dollar was up to $0.7633, up 0.13 percent, a rise which may be attributed as much to the rise in oil prices during the U.S. session than to the Fed announcement. The rise in oil prices followed a drop in U.S. crude oil inventory. Crude oil jumped 2.9 percent during Wednesday’s U.S. session and another 1.08 percent during Thursday’s Asian session, to $45.83 per barrel. Global benchmark Brent followed a similar trajectory, gaining 2 percent overnight and another 1.09 percent on Thursday, to $47.34 per barrel.
The New Zealand dollar was as low as $0.7319 following the RBZN decision, down from $0.7367 before the announcement.