- As investors braced for the Federal Reserve's much-anticipated interest-rate announcement, US equities futures held steady as European stocks crept higher. The pound rose to a six-week high following a surprising surge in UK inflation, which raised pressure on the Bank of England to act.
- Contracts for the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 fell slightly. The STOXX Europe 600 Index was slightly higher, with banks leading the way as concerns about the financial system subsided following UBS's bailout of Credit Suisse.
- The pound rose more as traders increased their bets on a quarter-point boost on Thursday, while UK bonds sank. Treasury rates declined on Wednesday following a rise that added 19 basis points to the two-year maturity and 12 basis points to the 10-Yr benchmark on Tuesday.
- Traders fully price in a 3.5% peak ECB rate for first time in a week.
- Traders fully price a 25-basis-point BoE rate hike on Thursday.
- ECB's President Lagarde: We are neither committed to raise further nor are we finished with hiking rates.
