International Markets Slide On Fed’s Hawkish Fee Coverage; U.S. Greenback Eases Barely After Hitting Two-Yr Excessive – International Markets As we speak Whereas US Slept – SmartETFs Asia Pacific Dividend Builder ETF (ARCA:ADIV)

On Wednesday, December 18th, U.S. markets closed sharply decrease, with the Dow dropping over 1,100 factors—its steepest decline since August and longest dropping streak since 1974. The Fed minimize charges by 25 foundation factors as anticipated however signaled fewer cuts in 2025. Markets reacted sharply to the much less dovish tone regardless of assurances of financial energy and progress on inflation.

Fed Chair Powell adopted a hawkish tone because the Fed minimize charges by 0.25% however decreased 2025 fee minimize projections to 2, down from 4 in September and under market expectations.

The U.S. present account deficit widened to $310.9 billion in Q3, exceeding the estimated $284 billion. Housing begins fell 1.8% in November to an annualized 1.289 million items from 1.312 million in October.

S&P 500 ended within the pink, with shopper discretionary, actual property, and communication providers shares struggling the most important declines.

The Dow Jones Industrial Common was down 2.58% and closed at 42,326.87, the S&P 500 closed decrease by 2.95% at 5,872.16, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 3.56% to complete at 19,392.69.

Asia Markets As we speak

• On Thursday, Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.80% and ended the session at 38,808.50, led by losses within the Communication, Metal, and Transportation Gear sectors.
• Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.70% and ended the day at 8,168.20, led by losses within the Gold, IT, and Supplies sectors.
• India’s Nifty 50 slid 0.98% to 23,961.95, and Nifty 500 was down 0.77%, closing at 22,757.65, led by losses within the Banking, Client Durables, and Capital Items sectors.
• China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.36% to shut at 3,370.03, whereas the Shenzhen CSI 300 gained 0.09%, ending the day at 3,945.46.
• Hong Kong’s Cling Seng was down 0.56% and closed the session at 19,752.51.

Eurozone at 05:30 AM ET

• The European STOXX 50 index was down 1.60%.
• Germany’s DAX slid 1.12%.
• France’s CAC fell 1.49%.
• U.Okay.’s FTSE 100 index traded decrease by 1.27%.
• European shares fell because the Fed signaled slower fee cuts in 2025. Fee-sensitive tech shares led losses, whereas bond yields spiked and commodities declined.

Commodities at 05:30 AM ET

• Crude Oil WTI was buying and selling decrease by 0.71% at $70.08/bbl, and Brent was up 0.07% at $73.44/bbl.
• Pure Fuel rose 2/16% to $3.447.
• Gold was buying and selling decrease by 0.78% at $2,632.79, Silver was down 2.23% to $30.027, and Copper fell 1.62% to $4.0903.

U.S. Futures at 05:30 AM ET

Dow futures have been up 0.40%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.48% and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.47%.

Foreign exchange at 05:30 AM ET

• The U.S. greenback index was down 0.13% to 107.89, the USD/JPY rose 1.35% to 156.89, and the USD/AUD slid 0.42% to 1.6012.
• The U.S. greenback surged to a two-year excessive after the Fed signaled fewer fee cuts in 2025, pressuring world currencies. Nevertheless, it slipped Thursday amid skinny vacation buying and selling, with the euro and Canadian greenback, and received fluctuating sharply.

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