Deutsche Bank analysts highlight that the first Federal Reserve hike since 2023 and a more hawkish dot plot weighed on US equities. The S&P 500 fell to its lowest level since July, with blue-chip names and banks underperforming, although tech indices were more resilient. Overnight, S&P 500 futures reversed prior losses, pointing to a tentative improvement in risk sentiment.

US stocks react to Fed shift

“The hawkish Fed repricing weighed on risk assets. The S&P 500 closed -0.45% lower, having traded a few tenths higher earlier in the day thanks to the decline in oil prices.”

“Tech stocks helped limit the size of the aggregate decline, with the Nasdaq (-0.01%) and the Mag-7 (-0.11%) outperforming as the Philly Semiconductor Index (+0.63%) advanced. There were sharper losses amid blue chip names, with the Dow Jones (-1.21%) falling to a three-month low, while banks (-2.30%) and energy stocks (-2.97%) led the losses for the S&P 500.”

“The market mood has improved somewhat overnight with S&P 500 futures (+0.60%) reversing yesterday’s losses and NASDAQ futures (+0.69%) similarly stronger. This has left a mixed backdrop in Asian markets overnight. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (+0.15%), South Korea’s KOSPI (+0.89%) and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 (+0.35%) are all advancing. Elsewhere, Chinese equities are under pressure.”

“The Hang Seng (-0.75%) is leading the losses as the HKMA mirrored the Fed’s move by raising rates +25bps to 4.25%, while the Shanghai Composite (-0.35%) and the CSI 300 (-0.36%) are modestly lower.”

“The Stoxx 600 (+0.46%), DAX (+0.53%), CAC 40 (+0.62%) and FTSE 100 (+0.28%) all recovered from multi-week lows, while yields fell back from Tuesday’s multi-year highs, with 10yr bund (-3.1bps), OAT (-4.0bps), and BTP (-5.4bps) yields all lower. “