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US futures slipped but markets in Asia advanced Monday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice had served the central bank with subpoenas. The threat of a criminal indictment over Powell's testimony about the Fed's building renovations is the latest escalation in President Donald Trump's feud with the Fed. Trump has criticized the Fed's $2.5 billion renovation of two office buildings as excessive. Markets appeared to take the news in stride, although gold and other precious metals often used as a hedge in times of uncertainty climbed. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.5%. The future for the Nasdaq composite index slipped 0.8%. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.4% to 26,337.92, while the Shanghai Composite index also rose 0.4%, 4,135.31. Tokyo's markets were closed for a holiday. However, the US dollar rose against the Japanese yen, climbing to 157.96 yen from 157.90 late Friday. In South Korea, the Kospi
The Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate by a quarter-point for the third time in a row on Wednesday but signalled that it may leave rates unchanged in the coming months. Chair Jerome Powell signalled at a news conference that the Fed would likely hold off on further rate cuts in the coming months while it evaluated the health of the economy. And in a set of quarterly economic projections, Fed officials signalled they expect to lower rates just once next year. Wednesday's cut reduced the rate to about 3.6 per cent, the lowest it has been in nearly three years. Lower rates from the Fed can bring down borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards over time, though market forces can also affect those rates. Fed officials "will carefully evaluate the incoming data," Powell said, adding that the Fed is "well positioned to wait to see how the economy evolves." The chair also said that the Fed's key rate was close to a level that neither restricts nor stimulates the
The US Fed's interest rate decision will be the major factor dictating trends in the domestic equity market this week, with global movements and foreign investor activity also influencing sentiment, according to analysts. Stock markets ended the last week on a subdued note, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closing flat. "This week, markets will closely track India's CPI print on December 12...Globally, the spotlight will be on the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision, which could drive risk sentiment across emerging markets already navigating currency pressures," Ajit Mishra- SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said. The movement of the rupee, which breached 90 to a dollar last week, will also be tracked by investors. Investors' attention now shifts firmly to the upcoming US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for December 910, 2025, Pravesh Gour, Senior Technical Analyst at Swastika Investmart Ltd, said. "Alongside the FOMC decision, key US econo
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday he would push a new requirement that the Federal Reserve's regional bank presidents live in their districts for at least three years before taking office, a move that could give the White House more power over the independent agency. In comments at the New York Times' DealBook Summit, Bessent said that there is a disconnect with the framing of the Federal Reserve and added that, unless someone has lived in their district for three years, we're going to veto them. Bessent has stepped up his criticism of the Fed's 12 regional bank presidents in recent weeks after several of them made clear in a series of speeches that they opposed cutting the Fed's key rate at its next meeting in December. President Donald Trump has sharply criticized the Fed for not lowering its short-term interest rate more quickly. When the Fed reduces its rate it can over time lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. The prospect of the ...