US Markets Stock markets were volatile on Wednesday but finished down after the Federal Reserve announced its third 75-basis point interest rate hike in a row. - The S&P 500 is now down 10% in the last month and 21% from its all-time high.
- Every sector of the S&P 500 finished in the red, with communications, consumer, and materials stocks dragging down markets.
- The current 10 Year U.S. Treasury yield is set at 3.53090%
| Dow Jones | 30,183.78 | -1.70% | | S&P 500 | 3,789.93 | -1.71% | | Nasdaq | 11,220.19 | -1.79% | | Russell 2000 | 1,762.16 | -1.42% | *Stock Market data as of the last closing bell. Data received directly from the reference indexes through ICE Data Services. Do you not understand any of these figures? Check out our explainer.
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Canadian Markets Canadian stocks rose on Wednesday despite the decline in U.S. markets. - Bank of Montreal's chief of fixed income and money markets, Earl Davis, said there is a "99.9%" chance that the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes will cause a recession in the U.S.
- He argued that while it may be "a policy mistake," central bankers may want to cause a recession because that may be the only way to control inflation.
- The Bank of Canada has been increasing interest rates more aggressively than the Federal Reserve and, as a result, Canada, unlike the U.S., has seen a decrease in inflation.
*Canadian stock prices are as of the last close. Data received directly from the references indexes through ICE Data Services
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European Markets Stocks in Europe were up on Wednesday despite the negative moves in the U.S. - The Stoxx 600 finished up nearly 1% after starting the day down almost 0.5%.
- Travel and Leisure stocks dragged down markets, losing 1.9%.
- Utility stocks outperformed all other sectors after gaining 1.8%.
| Euro STOXX 50 | 3,479.04 | 0.34% | | UK (FTSE 100) | 7,233.70 | 0.57% | | Germany (DAX) | 12,712.75 | 0.33% | | France (CAC 40) | 6,006.17 | 0.45% | *European stock prices are as of 7 am ET. Data received directly from the reference indexes through ICE Data Services.
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Asian Markets Stocks in Asia were down on Wednesday due to the anticipation of the Federal Reserve interest rate hike that was announced after markets in Asia had closed. - The Chinese economy continues to struggle as the county reassesses its Zero Covid policy, which has drawn criticism from citizens frustrated with the ongoing lockdowns.
- China is also suffering from a decrease in business from western countries as Beijing takes "ideological" decisions that undermine the interests of foreign companies.
- All major indexes in China saw losses, led by a decline in technology stocks, with the Hang Seng Tech index down 2.7%.
| S&P Asia 50 | 4,165.64 | -1.76% | | Japan (Nikkei 225) | 27,313.13 | -1.36% | | South Korea (KOSPI) | 2,347.21 | -0.87% | | China (Hang Seng) | 18,444.62 | -1.79% | | India (SENSEX) | 59,456.78 | -0.44% | *Asian stock prices are as of 7 am ET. Data received directly from the reference indexes through ICE Data Services.
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Commodities Oil prices reached a nearly two-week low during U.S. trading hours on Wednesday due to the rise in interest rates. - Prices rose significantly before trading began as Putin announced a major military mobilization in Ukraine.
- Brent crude lost 0.9% on Wednesday, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.2%.
- During Asian trading hours, before U.S. markets opened, Brent gained nearly 3%.
| Oil (NYSEARCA:OIL) | 30.50 | 2.38% | | Gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) | 155.53 | 0.30% | | Silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) | 17.93 | 1.10% | | Corn (NYSEARCA:CORN) | 27.36 | -1.45% | | Lumber (NASDAQ:WOOD) | 69.58 | -0.01% | *Commodity prices are as of 7 am ET. Data from MarketWatch. To understand why investors track the prices of these commodities, click here.
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Currency Exchange Rates The U.S. Dollar continued its rise, gaining against all major currencies after the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate hike. - The Fed now projects that interest rates will hit 4.4% by the end of 2022 and continue to rise in 2023.
- The Fed expects that it will begin to cut rates in 2024.
- The U.S. Dollar Index is currently at a 20-year high after rising nearly 1% yesterday.
| UK(GBP) | £0.89 | 1.49% | | Europe (EURO) | €1.02 | 1.89% | | Canada (Canadian Dollar) | $1.35 | 1.62% | | Japan (Yen) | ¥144.08 | 0.60% | *Exchange rates as of 7 am ET. Data from Morningstar Financial Research. To understand why we track these currencies and the differences between them, click here.
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Cryptocurrency Bitcoin prices continued to fall on Wednesday due to the interest rate hike. - Bitcoin is now below $19,000, at risk of crossing the $18,000 support level.
- Ethereum's decline continued to outpace Bitcoin as it fell 3% during U.S. trading hours compared to a 1% decrease for Bitcoin.
- Kraken CEO Jesse Powell has announced that he will be stepping down.
| Bitcoin | $18,354.30 | -6.21% | | Ethereum | $1,242.95 | -6.22% | | Litecoin | $50.77 | -3.00% | | Bitcoin Cash | $110.11 | -1.73% | *Exchange rates as of 7 am ET. Data from Morningstar Financial Research. To understand why we track these currencies and the differences between them, click here.
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 |  | Liam Gill is a founder, lawyer and investor.
He previously founded Fumarii Technologies, which became a top 20 ranked cloud computing service (Yahoo Finance! 2019) valued at over $30M. He holds an LLB Laws (UK), MSc Management and Master of Laws and currently practices law in Vancouver, Canada.
|   | | Editor | Eduardo Garcia is a writer and editor based in New York. He is the author of "Things You Can Do," an illustrated book about climate action. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade. | |
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