On Wednesday, December 10th local time, the Federal Reserve announced its interest rate decision, cutting rates by 25 basis points as expected, and announced it would purchase $40 billion in Treasury bonds over the next 30 days.
Before the Fed Decision Announcement
Before the release of the Fed's December interest rate decision statement, US stocks showed little intraday movement, while the dollar and gold fell, and US Treasury yields declined intraday:
- The S&P 500 was roughly flat, the Dow Jones rose 0.34%, the Nasdaq fell 0.37%, and the bank stock index rose 1.15%.
- The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note fell 2.34 basis points to 4.1644%, holding steady around the daily low of 4.1566%; the two-year Treasury yield fell 2.67 basis points to 3.5859%, holding steady near the daily low of 3.5817%.
- The US Dollar Index fell 0.29% to 98.95 points. USD/JPY fell 0.31%, EUR/USD rose 0.28%, GBP/USD rose 0.32%, and AUD/USD was flat.
- Spot gold fell 0.29% to $4195.92. Spot silver fell 0.36% to $60.42.
After the Fed Decision Announcement
At 3:00 AM Beijing time, the Fed's December meeting cut rates by 25 basis points as expected and announced it would purchase $40 billion in Treasury bonds over the next 30 days. US stocks and gold fluctuated and then moved higher; short-term Treasury yields fell briefly, while long-term Treasury yields fluctuated and then rose:
- The S&P 500 index rose 0.15%, the Dow Jones rose 0.52%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.22%.
- The two-year Treasury yield briefly fell by 3 basis points, approaching 3.56% after the release of the Fed's statement. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly fell by more than 2 basis points, refreshing the daily low to below 4.14%, but then rose again.
- Spot gold briefly rose by over $15, turning positive overall, approaching the daily high of $4218.85刷新ed at 10:43 Beijing time.
- Bitcoin refreshed its daily high to above $93,200, then fell below $91,800, before rising again.
Powell's Press Conference
After the press conference began, Powell stated that the scale of US Treasury purchases might remain at a high level in the coming months, but he also said that he did not believe another rate cut was anyone's base case assumption.
Driven by Powell's bond-buying comments, US stock gains expanded during the session, refreshing daily highs:
- The S&P 500 index rose over 0.6%, refreshing its daily high; the Dow Jones rose 491 points, a gain of over 1%; the Nasdaq rose 0.3%; the biotechnology index rose 1.1%; the semiconductor index rose 1.2%; the bank index rose 2.4%.
- US Treasury yields fluctuated but overall trended lower.
- Gold initially moved lower at the start of the press conference but later pulled up.
- Bitcoin fluctuated during the press conference and rallied midway through the session.
Around 4:20 AM Beijing time, near the end of the press conference:
- The S&P's gain narrowed from 1.2% to 0.7%; the Dow Jones rose 556 points, a gain of 1.1%; the Nasdaq rose 0.4%; the semiconductor index rose 1.4%; the bank index rose 2.7%.
- The two-year Treasury yield fell below 3.54%, refreshing its daily low, down 7.5 basis points on the day; the 10-year Treasury yield fell about 5 basis points, refreshing its daily low to below 4.14%.
- The ICE US Dollar Index fell over 0.6%, refreshing its daily low to below 98.60 points. It had微幅震荡下挫 before 03:00 Beijing time when the Fed announced the 25 bps rate cut and monthly Treasury purchase plan, then briefly fell slightly lower. It briefly rebounded above 99 after Powell's press conference began. The Bloomberg Dollar Index fell over 0.45%, refreshing its daily low to below 1209 points, with an intraday trading range of 1215.08-1208.86 points.
- Spot gold rose 0.6%, refreshing its daily high, approaching $4239. It had refreshed its daily low near $4182 at 03:41 Beijing time, early in Powell's press conference.
- Near the end of Powell's press conference, Bitcoin一度涨向 $94,500, refreshing its daily high.
