After seeing an upswing for most of the day, US stocks sank following the release of minutes from the Fed’s April meeting, which pointed towards the possibility of a June interest rate hike.
Fed officials said that if data showed an improving economy, a June hike could result—pushing back against market expectations, and some economists’ analysis, that a June hike is unlikely.
As of their March forecast, the Fed expected two rate hikes this year, though some investors predicted just one after early-year market turmoil threw a wrench in the central banks’ December plans, the Wall Street Journal reports.
"There is this widespread complacency this year that [Fed officials] won’t raise rates as many times as they said they would,” Wells Fargo global quantitative strategist Sameer Samana tells the Wall Street Journal. “That’s a risk.” [WSJ]
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