NEW YORK, Nov 2 (Reuters) – Global stock indexes fell and the dollar was slightly lower against other major currencies on Wednesday on expectations of another aggressive interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the day. .
US Treasury yields were little changed.
The U.S. central bank is expected to announce a quarter of three-quarters of a percentage point hike, part of its efforts to curb inflation. A policy statement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is due at 2 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT).
The Fed has raised its benchmark overnight interest rate from near zero in March to the current 3.00% to 3.25%.
The key question for some market participants is whether the Fed will even signal that it may slow additional rate hikes in a so-called dosh pivot.
Analysts said uncertainty over how the economic data would play out meant that the dosh pivot could still be some way off.
Data on Tuesday showed that US private payrolls rose more than expected in October. It also supported the Fed’s case for remaining dovish, following a report on Tuesday that showed a jump in US monthly job openings.
“The general calm before the FOMC storm is what we’re seeing this morning, across all asset classes,” said Michael Brown, head of market intelligence at payments firm Caxton in London.
Among currencies, the euro was 0.11 percent higher against the dollar at $0.9885, while against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell 0.8 percent to 147.03 yen. ,
Currency strategists in a Reuters poll believed the dollar’s rebound was temporary.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ( .DJI ) fell 93.27 points, or 0.29%, to 32,559.93, the S&P 500 ( .SPX ) lost 17.14 points, or 0.44%, to 3,838.96 and the Nasdaq IX was down 0.65%, or 0.65%, to 10,819.79.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index (.STOXX) was down 0.10% and MSCI’s gauge of stocks around the world (.MIWD00000PUS) was down 0.21%.
Treasury yields were little changed in the hours before the Fed news.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was above 4%, while the two-year yield, which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations, was above 4.5%.
US crude recently rose 0.44% to $88.76 a barrel and Brent was up 0.4% on the day at $95.03.
Earlier, upbeat remarks from Chinese regulators on policy support and rising expectations among investors about easing of strict COVID-19 measures boosted sentiment in its market.
Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday that a shift in the central bank’s yield curve control policy, which has contributed to the yen’s weakness, could be a future option.
Additional reporting by Saqib Iqbal Ahmed in New York and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; Editing by Kim Kugel, Mark Potter and Alex Richardson
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