Attempt to react on Wall Street amid nervousness in the wake of the Fed

LAST UPDATE 18:52

A backlash is under way on Wall Street, with buyers trying to keep up with the rally over the past two days as they continue to absorb yesterday’s Federal Reserve rate hike for the first time in three years, as well as the latest from the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points yesterday, confirming analysts’ estimates that the enormous geopolitical uncertainty from the war in Ukraine leaves no room for a more aggressive increase by 50 basis points, while opening the door to a considerable aggressive approach in the coming months to bring the fastest inflation of the last 40 years under control.

In particular, the Fed has shown that it expects another six interest rate hikes in 2022, with the chairman of the central bank reiterating that he will not allow high inflation to be consolidated in the US economy. The successive increases in US interest rates, however, are expected to test the resilience of the US economy, at the same time as adversity in the international environment is rising sharply.

However, the latest developments on the front of the Ukrainian crisis maintain volatility in the market, with the result that any movements of buyers are cautious for the time being. The latest statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov that the Russian delegation is ready to negotiate with the Ukrainian side at any time and are working on a peace deal that could end the Russian military operation in Ukraine, but not Kyiv. shows the same heat.

A development that “cuts” the hopes of investors for a diplomatic solution to the Ukrainian crisis, intensifying again the uncertainty that has triggered the geopolitical developments in the last three weeks.

The climate is further aggravated by the new rally in oil prices, after three days of losses, with the WTI climbing again above the psychological level of $ 100 a barrel with a jump of 6%.

Indicators – Statistics

On the board, after a bearish opening, the three indicators temporarily moved to positive territory to quickly return to a negative sign, before the start of the new buyer reaction operation that is underway, with volatility remaining strong.

In particular, the Dow Jones now adds 138 points or 0.41% and moves to 34,201.50 points. The S&P 500 is up 18 points or 0.44% at 4,376.91 points, while the tech Nasdaq is up 0.34% higher at 13,482.17 points.

Of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrial average, 21 are moving with a positive sign and 9 with a negative. The biggest increase is recorded by Dow Inc with an increase of 4.26%, followed by American Express with + 2.47% and Caterpillar with + 1.98%. The shares with the biggest losses are Microsoft (-0.80%), Visa (-0.74%) and Boeing (-0.63%).

At the end of the day, data released today showed that initial unemployment benefit applications fell by 15,000 in the week ended March 12, to 214,000.

At the same time, house starts rose 6.8% in February to 1.77 million, while the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing index rose to 27.4 points in March from 16 points a month earlier.