Tech Breaking
Published: September 17, 2026 at 7:15a.m. EDT HONG KONG — World shares mostly advanced on Thursday despite Wall Street closed lower following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike decision for the first time in three years.
The quarter of a percentage point increase brings the Fed’s key rate to a target range of 3.75 per cent-4.00 per cent, as it attempts to control U.S. inflation that’s been stubbornly above its target. U.S. futures were higher. The futures for the S&P 500 climbed 0.8 per cent, while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.7 per cent.
In early European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to 10,739.72. France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.3 per cent to 8,163.52, while Germany’s DAX climbed 0.6 per cent to 25,694.84. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.3 per cent at 64,136.25.
South Korea’s Kospi edged down less than 0.1 per cent to 6,715.41. The Hong Kong Hang Seng fell 0.4 per cent to 24,604.29, while the Shanghai Composite index lost 0.4 per cent to 3,875.60. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.4 per cent to 8,732.40.
Taiwan’s Taiex jumped 1 per cent, while India’s Sensex edged up 0.1 per cent. On Wednesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 dropped 0.5 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.2 per cent, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite was mostly unchanged.
Market reactions were “pretty much expected since the rate rise was also in line with market expectation,” said Lorraine Tan, director of equity research for Asia at Morningstar on Thursday, adding that the ongoing Iran war is likely to keep pressure on inflation. Following the Fed’s announcements, the two-year U.S. Treasury yield rose to 4.71 per cent early Thursday compared to around 4.67 per cent late Tuesday.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury remained at near 5.00 per cent at an elevated level. Government bond yields have remained higher since the war as the war-driven energy shock adds to inflationary pressure while investors also worry about growing U.S. national debt. The U.S. dollar fell early Thursday to 155.62 Japanese yen from 156.26 yen.
The euro was trading at US$1.1474, up from $1.1465. Oil prices fell. There are still limited oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway crucial for global oil transport, and as Saudi Arabia’s closure of a key oil pipeline adds to oil supply pressure as it moves to repair the pipeline.
Brent crude, the international standard, traded 1.2 per cent lower at $104.60 a barrel early Thursday, but still well above the around $72 per barrel in late February before the war. Chan Ho-him, The Associated Press
Source: bnnbloomberg.ca
