Global stocks are on track for their biggest drop in two weeks while oil prices held near six-month lows on Friday as a confident U.S. central bank and weak Chinese data hit demand for risky assets.
While the decision to hold interest rates by the U.S. Federal Reserve was anticipated by markets, some participants had expected a more cautious approach from the central bank after a stock market rout in October.
“That the Fed indicated an optimistic view on the economy despite the turbulence in stock markets in October suggests more rate hikes are in store and that is not positive for risky assets,” said Lefteris Farmakis, a strategist at UBS in London.
via Reuters
