The Weekly Lens – Stocks

Second Week of Trading 2022

The second week of trading in 2022 was once again dominated by the talk of interest rate hikes in the US. The Federal Reserve (FED) suggested it would take the training wheels off the economy, begin raising rates in an attempt to see if the economy can stand on its own two feet.

The hawkish shift in the FOMC’s December meeting, and subsequently reinforced by several FED officials this week. Rate-hike odds surged as the market anticipates the FED will begin to deliver four 25bp this year, following each of its meetings in March, June, September, and December.

The US markets, in particular, did not like the message coming from the FED. All the major US equity indices are lower on the year. The UK’s FTSE leads the way in Europe. while France and Germany have done nothing. Hong Kong has made a promising start to the year, while China and Japan struggled to find any direction.

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