Investors are in ‘wait and see’ mode ahead of tonight’s Fed decision, with tech stocks taking the brunt of the selling this afternoon, says Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at online trading platform IG.
“Today’s Fed decision is eagerly awaited by investors who are desperate to see what the Fed will hint at regarding the first rate cut. Much of the ebullient risk appetite we have seen over the past three months has been built on the expectation that the Fed will cut several times this year. Given how heavy the selling in Alphabet has been it looks like markets could get quite ugly if the Fed strikes a hawkish tone.”
“It promises to be a busy 24 hours for currency traders thanks to the proximity of the Fed and BoE meetings. Market participants risk being caught between a rock and a hard place; the tight range seen in GBPUSD over the past two weeks screams indecision. Hopefully tonight and tomorrow will break the logjam”.