Market Watch: September 23
Big Picture
Markets Wobble as Fed Raises Rates Another 75 Basis Points
Major U.S. indexes inched up Monday, and bond yields hit their highest level in over a decade as investors awaited the Fed’s latest interest-rate hike on Wednesday. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered solid gains, while the TSX rose 176 points, buoyed by energy, financials and industrials. In U.S. bond markets, 10-year Treasury yields rose to 3.489 per cent, the highest level since 2011, while the two-year note climbed to 3.946 per cent, its highest level since 2007.
U.S. indexes opened Tuesday morning in the red and stayed there throughout the day as the Fed’s impending decision continued to weigh on markets. The Dow dropped 313 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq surrendered 44 and 110, respectively. In Canada, the TSX fell 194 points in a broad-based selloff. Also, on Tuesday, Statistics Canada reported that the country’s annual headline inflation rate slowed to 7 per cent in August, down from 7.6 per cent in July, thanks mainly to lower gasoline prices.