Traders work after a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, US, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures ticked higher early Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated the possibility of a rate hike this year.
S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.83% and 1.32%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 282 points, or slightly more than 0.5%.
Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly higher, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumping to fresh records, rising 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.6%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.21%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.62%.
European stock markets opened Thursday’s trading session in mixed territory, ahead of interest rate decisions from the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank due later in the session.
Wednesday marked the first meeting of the Federal Reserve with Kevin Warsh at the helm of the U.S. central bank. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Fed kept the benchmark federal funds rate unchanged and anchored in a range of between 3.5% and 3.75%.
Policymakers’ “dot plot” revealed that several Fed officials now see interest rates increasing in 2026. The median estimate for the year-end interest rate now stands at 3.8%, up from 3.4% in prior projections from March, suggesting that at least one rate hike could be in the picture in 2026.
Complicating the forecast was Warsh’s decision to abstain from submitting a rate forecast.
Following the meeting, stocks fell across the board. The Dow, which had hit a new all-time intraday high earlier in the day, ultimately declined 507.12 points, or 0.98%. The S&P 500 fell 1.21%, while the Nasdaq Composite lost 1.34%.
On the other hand, bond yields jumped. The two-year Treasury yield hit a high of 4.22%.
“The Fed held rates steady but spoiled the mood with a much more hawkish dot plot. Elevated inflation makes that understandable, but the committee is far from united, with only about half still penciling in rate hikes later this year,” said Sonu Varghese, chief macro strategist at Carson Group. “The bigger point is that policy still looks loose for an economy where inflation remains a problem and the labor market is stabilizing.”
“The market doesn’t like regime change,” added David Zervos, chief market strategist at Jefferies, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Wednesday afternoon.
Accenture and Kroger will report earnings before Thursday’s opening bell. Traders will also watch out for May’s leading indicators and June’s Philadelphia Fed Index reading, alongside initial jobless claims from the week ended June 13.
Switzerland’s central bank leaves interest rate unchanged at 0%
The Swiss National Bank kept its main policy rate unchanged 0% on Thursday, in a move that was widely anticipated by markets.
The SNB said that inflation has ticked higher since its last monetary policy statement, increasing to 0.6% in May from 0.1% in February, mainly due to elevated energy costs following the Middle East conflict.
But medium-term inflationary pressure remains “virtually unchanged” in that time, the central bank said in a statement.
USD/CHF.
The Swiss franc was down 0.03% against the dollar at 0.79 around 8:55 a.m. in London (3:55 a.m. E.T.)
Looking ahead, the SNB said the key risk for Switzerland’s economic outlook remains the global economic situation, highlighting both U.S. trade policy and Middle East uncertainty.
“The upward pressure on the Swiss franc could also increase again,” it noted.
—Hugh Leask
Asia-Pacific markets close mostly higher; Kospi and Nikkei 225 hit new highs
Asia-Pacific markets closed mixed Thursday, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 jumping to fresh record highs.
The Kospi rose 2.3% to 9,063.84, with index heavyweight SK Hynix advancing 6.51% to notch a fresh high, while Samsung Electronics rose 4.62%. The small-cap Kosdaq index declined over 3%.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.65% to close at a record 71,053.49, while the Topix was up 1.37%. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.62% to end the trading day at 8,911.1.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.6% to 23,924.8, while mainland China’s CSI 300 added 0.21% to 4,941.60.
—Lee Ying Shan
Stoxx 600 opens lower ahead of central bank interest rate decisions
Skyscrapers on the skyline in the financial district of Frankfurt, Germany, on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024.
Alex Kraus | Bloomberg | Getty Images
European stock markets opened Thursday’s trading session in mixed territory.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.1% lower shortly after 8:00 a.m. in London (3:05 a.m. E.T.). Most regional sectors slipped into the red, but a majority of bourses edged higher.
In London, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was 0.65% lower, while in Paris, the French CAC 40 was up 0.03%. In Frankfurt, Germany’s DAX rose 0.27%. The Italian FTSE MIB added 0.18% in Milan.
Industrials led gains with a 0.46% rise in early trade, while telecoms were up 0.27%.
Interest rate decisions from the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank are due later. The BoE’s rates-setting Monetary Policy Committee is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 3.75%, while the SNB is also set to hold its rate steady at 0%.
— Hugh Leask
U.K. unemployment rate falls slightly to 4.9%
Commuters cross London Bridge in London, England.
Peter Summers | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The U.K. unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.9% in the three months to April, from 5% in March, official data published Thursday showed.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the unemployment rate to hold at 5%.
The latest jobless data release from the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics comes comes ahead of the Bank of England’s latest interest rates decision, due 12 p.m. London time on Thursday. The BoE’s rates-setting Monetary Policy Committee is expected to hold rates steady at 3.75%.
The 5% figure for the three months to March was a surprise increase from 4.9% in February.
—Hugh Leask
Wall Street banks and foreign borrowers are rushing to tap China’s cheap money
Foreign governments, Wall Street banks and multinational companies are flocking to China’s domestic bond market as some of the world’s cheapest borrowing costs turn the yuan into an increasingly attractive funding currency.
The yuan-denominated bonds, also known as panda bonds, are sold by overseas issuers in China’s onshore market and have become a major beneficiary of Beijing’s push to internationalize its currency amid a widening gap between Chinese and Western interest rates.
Issuance has accelerated sharply this year, with sovereign borrowers including Kazakhstan and Pakistan joining global financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank, as well as multinational firms including Volkswagen and Henkel. Deutsche Bank, as recently as late May, announced that it raised 3.5 billion yuan ($518 million) through a heavily oversubscribed three- and five-year panda bond offering.
Read the full story here.
—Lee Ying Shan
Nvidia supplier SK Hynix shares jump as it ships next-gen HBM4E samples
South Korea’s SK Hynix jumped over 3% to a fresh record high after the chipmaker announced it has supplied samples of its 12-layer HBM4E memory chip to key customers.
SK Hynix said in a statement said the next-generation product delivers data transfer speeds of up to 16 gigabits per second per pin and improves power efficiency by more than 20% from previous models.
The South Korean chipmaker is a key HBM supplier to Nvidia.
—Lee Ying Shan
Asia markets open higher, Nikkei 225 and Kospi climbs to another record high
Asia-Pacific markets opened broadly higher, with South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei 225 edging higher to fresh records.
The Kospi rose 0.89%. Index heavyweight SK Hynix advanced 3.45% to notch a fresh high, while Samsung Electronics rose 1.23%. The small-cap Kosdaq declined 0.5%.
Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was flat.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 traded 1.35% higher to rise above 71,000 for the first time, while the Topix was up 1.27%.
Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures were last at 24,510, higher than the index’s prior close of 24,493.95.
— Lee Ying Shan
All 11 GICS sectors fall on Wednesday
Stocks fell across the board on Wednesday, with all 11 of the GICS sectors ultimately ending lower.
Leading the losses was the communication services sector, which fell 2.98%. This was followed by the consumer discretionary and real estate sectors, which respectively lost 2.69% and 2.47%.
On the other hand, industrials stocks, which shed a mere 0.12%, was the day’s best-performing sector.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Wednesday marked worst ‘Fed day’ S&P 500 performance under a new chair since 1994
The S&P 500 shed 1.21% on Wednesday, with losses steepening during and after Kevin Warsh’s inaugural press conference as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
That marked the worst performance for the index on the first “Fed day” under a new chair since 1994, according to date from Bespoke Investment Group.
To be sure, only three other new Fed leaders have been named in that timespan: Ben Bernanke, Jerome Powell and Janet Yellen.
Read the full story here.
— Alex Harring and Lisa Kailai Han
Asia markets set for mixed open after Fed’s Warsh unveils central bank overhaul
Asia-Pacific markets looked poised for a mixed start on Thursday after Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh used his first press conference to unveil a broad review of the central bank’s operations.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 was set to jump, with the Chicago futures contract at 70,825 and its Osaka counterpart last trading at 69,980, compared with the index’s previous close of 69,902.25.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index futures were last at 24,200, lower than the index’s last close of 24,312.16.
Futures for Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 traded at 8,909, while the index closed at 8,966.3.
Warsh said the Fed would create five dedicated task forces focused on communications, balance-sheet management, data usage, productivity and employment, as well as the central bank’s approach to inflation targeting.
— Lee Ying Shan
