Stocks And Bonds Rally, Dollar Falls
All eyes turned to the Fed on Thursday, which
raised interest rate by 25 bps to 5.25%
(report),
as expected. Earlier in the day Q1 GDP was revised to 5.6% (report)
and Initial Jobless Claims rose to 313,000 (report).
Stock index futures, which were holding onto solid gains, rallied strongly
immediately after the announcement and closed near session highs.
Bond prices also rose, as the Fed’s 17th consecutive interest rate was in-line
with market expectations.
The US Dollar Index fell sharply on the news, with the Dollar losing ground
against all the majors.
Crude Oil, Unleaded Gas and Heating Oil prices rallied sharply but Natural gas
fell continued to decline, weighed down by the EIA report that Natural Gas
stocks rose by 66 BCF in the most recent week.
Cocoa +2.36% and Cotton +1.54% were the only big movers among the softs.
All the grains closed higher, except for Soybean Meal.
Economic News
GDP For Q1 Revised To 5.6% (report)
Initial Jobless Claims Up 4,000 To 313,000 (report)
EIA – Natural Gas Stocks Up 66 BCF
Fed Raises Rates 25 Basis Points To 5.25% (report)
For more reports and analysis go to our
Economic
News section.
Ashton Dorkins
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