• Stocks climbed to a record after the Fed signaled that monetary policy will remain accommodative even as the central bank starts reducing its massive bond-buying program this month.
  • The S&P 500, Dow Jones, NASDAQ 100, and Russell 2000 all closed at all-time highs for the second straight session, a feat not seen since January 2018. The yield curve steepened after Fed Chair Jerome Powell sought to emphasise that the tapering decision does not imply that rate rises are imminent. He stated that officials can be patient with tightening, but will not hesitate to act if inflation warrants it. The dollar dropped.
  • Traders mostly kept their bets on the timing of interest-rate hikes at the level they were at before the decision. Rate rises of around 55 basis points are predicted by money-market derivatives by the end of 2022. According to overnight index swaps, the first raise is expected around July, with a roughly 70% likelihood of occurring the month earlier.
  • On Wednesday, the Treasury revealed the first decline in its quarterly sale of longer-term debt in more than five years, showing reduced borrowing needs as the wave of pandemic-relief spending recedes.
  • Companies in the United States created the most jobs in four months, indicating that employers are making headway in filling a near-record number of unfilled positions. The figures come ahead of the Labor Department's monthly employment report, which is expected to indicate that private payrolls climbed by 408,000 in October. In October, service providers expanded at a record pace, fueled by solid demand and increased business activity.