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WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 03: Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell delivers remarks at a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting on May 3, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Federal Reserve announced a 0.25 percentage point interest rate increase bringing the key federal funds rate to more than 5%, a 16-year high. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Asia-Pacific markets are set to fall after the U.S. Federal Reserve hiked rates by 25 basis points as widely expected, bringing the federal funds rate range to 5%-5.25% — its highest level since August 2007.
However, the Fed did hint at a possible pause to hikes. The post-meeting statement omitted a sentence present in the previous statement saying that “the Committee anticipates that some additional policy firming may be appropriate” for the Fed to achieve its 2% inflation goal.
In Australia, futures for the S&P/ASX 200 stood at 7,165, lower than the index’s last close of 7,197.4. The country will also see the release of its March trade data on Wednesday.
In Japan, the Nikkei futures contract in Chicago was at 28,605, while its counterpart in Osaka was at 28,680 against the Nikkei 225’s last close at 29,157.95.
Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were also lower standing at 19,656, compared to its last close of 19,699.16.
Overnight in the U.S., all three major indexes slid after the Fed decision, extending their losing streak to three days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.80%, and the S&P 500 dipped 0.70%.The Nasdaq Composite saw the smallest loss, shedding 0.46%.
— CNBC’s Hakyung Kim and Sarah Min contributed to this report
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