SINGAPORE : Asian shares edged lower on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his recent hawkish tone on the bank's likely interest rate path, while the focus switches to the Bank of England' policy decision later in the day.Futures indicated stocks in Europe were set to open deep in
SINGAPORE : Asian shares edged lower on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his recent hawkish tone on the bank's likely interest rate path, while the focus switches to the Bank of England' policy decision later in the day.
Last week, the Fed held its benchmark interest rate steady at between 5 per cent and 5.25 per cent, but officials projected rates will have to increase another half percentage point by year's end to tame inflation. Kevin Cummins, chief economist at NatWest Markets, said Powell's testimony didn't shed any new light on the Fed's thinking or the likely future path for monetary policy, adding that his tone was very similar to last week's press conference and mostly leaned hawkish.
The comments highlight the growing debate at the central bank over when and if the central bank should hike further. Economists polled by Reuters last week were unanimous that the BoE would raise rates to 4.75 per cent, their highest since 2008, from 4.5 per cent, but the inflation data pushed financial markets to price in a nearly 50 per cent chance that the BoE would opt for a bigger move and raise rates by half a percentage point.
Apart from BoE, markets will also be awaiting a policy decision from Turkey's central bank, with a policy pivot and a sharp rate increase widely expected.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Asia wary in case Powell embraces his inner hawkSYDNEY : Asian stocks struggled on Wednesday as a lack of new stimulus steps from Beijing frustrated investors, who were also wondering just how hawkish the world's most powerful central banker would be later in the session.Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell faces lawmakers in two days of testimony and
Read more »
Asia stocks subdued after Powell testimony fails to surpriseSINGAPORE : Asian shares made a tentative start to Thursday after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell stuck to his recent hawkish tone as investors assess the future rate policy path from the Fed. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was marginally lower at 522.93. The index is down
Read more »
Southeast Asia, private equity deals seen underpinning Asia M&A in tough marketHONG KONG : Dealmaking in Southeast Asia and private equity transactions should help lift Asian mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the second half of the year, bankers said, after deals volume in the first half slumped to the lowest in a decade.Total Asia M&A value for January through June dropped
Read more »
Singapore currently not looking at regulating AI, says IMDA - Singapore NewsSINGAPORE: The director for trusted AI and data at Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said that the country is not looking at regulating AI at the moment, despite calls for AI’s risks to be evaluated. The government, in a effort to promote the responsible use of AI, had called for firms to work together …
Read more »
Marketmind: Hawkish Powell keeps markets on defenseA look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Alden Bentley, Breaking News Editor for Finance & Markets, Americas.The week's main attraction, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, came and went without rearranging the pieces on the table much.The Ja
Read more »
Dollar weakens as Powell's testimony offers little surprise; sterling steadySINGAPORE : The dollar languished near a one-month low against a basket of currencies on Thursday, after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stuck to his usual messaging at his semi-annual testimony, offering little room for surprise.Sterling was perched near a one-year high ahead of the Bank of England's
Read more »