The broader US S&P 500 stock index ended today’s trading at almost the same level as on Tuesday – 6890.59 points. In percentage terms, rounded to two decimal places, it remained unchanged. The Nasdaq Composite technology market index strengthened by 0.55 percent to 23,958.47 points. In contrast, the Dow Jones index, which includes the shares of thirty leading US companies, fell by 0.16 percent to exactly 47,632 points. The US dollar strengthened against major world currencies following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates. Until then, it had been trading more or less unchanged.
Dollar Index Development
The dollar index, which expresses the value of the dollar against a basket of six currencies, showed an increase of 0.6 percent to 99.261 points before 9:00 p.m. The pound weakened by 0.6 percent against the dollar to USD 1.3194. The euro weakened by 0.45 percent against the dollar to USD 1.1598.
As expected, the Fed cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of 3.75 to 4.00 percent. At the same time, the Fed announced in today’s press release that it would resume limited purchases of government bonds because money markets are showing signs of a liquidity shortage.
The Fed will be cautious
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell expressed caution about future developments at a press conference. “There were very different views in the committee’s discussions at this meeting on how to proceed in December,” he said. He added that another cut in the base interest rate at the December meeting has not been decided in advance.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will decide on interest rates on Thursday, and according to financial markets, it will leave rates unchanged. Its key deposit rate is currently at two percent.
Source: Czech Press Agency
