MANILA, Philippines — Share prices rallied back into the green yesterday after the US central bank hiked its key rate to a 16-year high but hinted at a possible pause to its streak of 10 consecutive rate increases. Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index fell 0.7 percent on Wednesday after the Fed announced a 0.25 percentage point increase in its lending rate. The Fed dropped a reference to “additional policy firming” in its statement but stopped short of declaring an end to rate hikes. “The key takeaway, in my view, is that we are likely at or very near the end of the rate hike cycle,” Kristina Hooper of Invesco said in a report. Traders expect the Fed to start cutting rates as early as this year to prop up weakening economic growth.

Source: Philippine Star May 04, 2023 23:36 UTC