Dollar dips on tame Fed outlook, while Trump trade war hits Asian equities
IN-ARTICLE KICKER: ‘The picture looks different when you look at [the Fed’s] longer-term projections. That explains the complicated reaction by markets’ Tokyo — The dollar slipped on Thursday after the Federal Reserve did not signal a faster pace of interest rate increases this year, while concern about a coming announcement on tariffs from US President Donald Trump dented Asian shares. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.1%, erasing earlier gains of up to 0.7%, which were led by South Korea and Taiwan hitting six-week highs. Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.4%. Wall Street stock indices ended the day lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 losing 0.18% and the Nasdaq composite falling 0.26%. The US Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday and forecast two more increases for 2018 in its first policy meeting under chairman Jerome Powell. Given that some investors had expected it to project three more rate hikes, the guidance was perceived by some as less h...
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