Business & Markets
Stocks climb as oil retreats after Fed rate hike
Stock markets rose on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, while oil prices ended lower as supply concerns eased.
Wall Street rallied after losses seen after Wednesday's Fed decision. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.6 percent at 51,778.04, the S&P 500 rose 1.1 percent to 7,637.76 and the Nasdaq gained 1.7 percent to 26,418.30.
European markets also rose after a mixed session in Asia. London's FTSE 100 closed up 1.2 percent, Paris gained 0.6 percent and Frankfurt rose 0.7 percent. Tokyo closed up 0.3 percent, while Hong Kong and Shanghai each fell 0.4 percent.
The Fed lifted borrowing costs by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75 percent to 4.00 percent, defying President Donald Trump's demand for cuts. Fed chair Kevin Warsh said inflation had been “too high” for “too long,” and most Fed policymakers indicated that at least one more rate increase was likely before the end of the year.
The 10-year US Treasury yield, a key measure of borrowing costs, stayed below five percent. Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said investors took comfort from the Fed standing firm despite Trump's demands for lower rates.
Oil prices fell as investors assessed hopes that Saudi Arabia could restore within days about half of crude shipments disrupted by the shutdown of its East-West pipeline to the Red Sea. The pipeline was shut last week after being targeted by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote, said Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman's Sohar port while working to restore roughly half of the damaged pipeline's capacity within days.
Brent North Sea crude ended down 1.0 percent at $104.82 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate fell 0.5 percent to $101.91.
In Britain, stocks rose after the Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate steady as expected while balancing weak growth against rising energy costs. The Bank of Japan is widely forecast to raise interest rates on Friday as it responds to high inflation and a weaker yen.
Update
The Dow closed up 0.6 percent, the S&P 500 up 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq up 1.7 percent.
Brent crude finished down 1.0 percent at $104.82 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate ended down 0.5 percent at $101.91.
The dollar/yen rate was 155.96 yen at around 2020 GMT, down from 156.26 yen on Wednesday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 September 2026 at 20:37:27 UTC.
Update
Wall Street gains were updated around 1530 GMT, with the Dow up 0.5%, the S&P 500 up 1.0% and the Nasdaq up 1.5%.
London, Paris and Frankfurt closed higher, with the FTSE 100 up 1.2% and the CAC 40 up 0.6%.
Brent crude was down 2.2% at $103.51 a barrel and WTI was down 1.8% at $100.61 around 1530 GMT.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 September 2026 at 15:51:59 UTC.
Update
Wall Street rallied on Thursday after losses following the Fed's Wednesday decision.
European stock indices rose after a mixed Asian session.
The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate steady.
Brent crude fell 2.8 percent to $102.87 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate fell 1.9 percent to $100.53 around 1345 GMT.
The 10-year US Treasury yield stayed below five percent.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 September 2026 at 13:57:07 UTC.
Update
Asian equity markets were mostly higher in early Thursday trade after the Fed rate increase.
Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Wellington and Jakarta advanced, while Hong Kong and Shanghai fell.
Long-term government bond yields fell after touching two-decade highs earlier in the week.
Oil prices extended losses after Wednesday's fall, with West Texas Intermediate at $102.11 and Brent at $105.66 around 0230 GMT.
Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that Saudi Aramco was looking to restore full capacity on its East-West pipeline in about six weeks.
President Donald Trump accused the Fed board of raising rates for political reasons.
Source note: AFP news report published on 17 September 2026 at 02:44:34 UTC.
Update
US stocks closed lower after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023.
The Federal Open Market Committee unanimously raised rates to a range of 3.75% to 4.00%.
The dollar rose against the euro and other major currencies after the decision.
A majority of Fed policymakers indicated at least one more rate increase before the end of 2026.
The S&P 500 closed down 0.5%, the Dow down 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite down less than 0.1%.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai called the decision "rather unfortunate" and said President Donald Trump wanted lower interest rates.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 September 2026 at 21:01:48 UTC.
Update
New York's S&P 500 and Nasdaq were higher around 1530 GMT, while the Dow was down less than 0.1%.
London, Paris and Frankfurt closed higher.
Brent crude was down 3.7% and West Texas Intermediate was down 4.1% around 1530 GMT.
UK annual inflation reached 3.1% in August, above the Bank of England's 2% target.
Analysts said Fed guidance could be the larger market catalyst because a rate hike was largely priced in.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 September 2026 at 15:51:04 UTC.
Update
At around 0810 GMT, West Texas Intermediate was down 1.7 percent at $104.08 a barrel and Brent was down 1.2 percent at $107.50.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed up 0.2 percent at 24,713.78.
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.4 percent at 10,697.95.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 September 2026 at 08:20:00 UTC.
Update
Asian stocks moved higher after earlier weakness, with Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Wellington, Mumbai and Jakarta rising.
London, Paris and Frankfurt opened higher.
West Texas Intermediate was down 1.5 percent at $104.25 a barrel and Brent was down 1.1 percent at $107.61 around 0715 GMT.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed up 0.7 percent and Shanghai's Composite closed up 0.7 percent.
The dollar was at 155.01 yen, compared with 155.09 yen on Tuesday.
Source note: AFP news report published on 16 September 2026 at 07:35:05 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The timing and scale of any full restoration of Saudi pipeline capacity remain uncertain.
JPMorgan analysts said the market direction was unclear in the absence of de-escalation signals or a diplomatic breakthrough.
Source
AFP news report published on .