On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged, but three regional Fed presidents voted against the decision, advocating for a 25-basis-point rate hike. Meanwhile, Trump said he would strike Iran in response to attacks on U.S. troops in the Middle East.
The U.S. Dollar Index plunged during the session, falling below the 101 mark, and ultimately closed down 0.59% at 100.81; the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield closed at 4.686%, while the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield—which is sensitive to the Fed’s policy rate—closed at 4.279%.
Spot gold rebounded after breaking below the $4,000 mark during the U.S. trading session and accelerated its gains following the Fed’s interest rate announcement, ultimately closing up 0.94% at $4,066.38 per ounce;Spot silver briefly returned to the $59 mark but subsequently gave up its gains rapidly, ultimately closing up 0.92% at $57.65 per ounce.
International oil prices halted their three-day losing streak as Trump again threatened to strike Iran following Iran’s raid on U.S. military bases.WTI crude opened higher and continued to rise, breaking above the $84 mark during the session, and ultimately closed up 6.74% at $83.59 per barrel; Brent crude closed up 7.27% at $87.91 per barrel.
U.S. stocks initially rose but then fell following the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision,with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing down 2.18%, the S&P 500 down 1.5%, and the Nasdaq down 1.7%. SK Hynix (SKHY.O) fell 2.6%, SanDisk (SNDK.O) dropped 7%, and Micron Technology (MU.O) declined 9.9%,NVIDIA (NVDA.O) fell 3.5%, Seagate Technology (STX.O) rose more than 2%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index closed up 1.7%, and Li Auto (LI.O) rose more than 4%.