– US indices rallied yesterday after Fed Chair Powell sent a rather dovish message during a press conference. S&P 500 gained 1.05%, Nasdaq moved 2.00% higher and Russell 2000 added 1.49%. Dow Jones traded flat

– FOMC delivered a 25 basis point rate hike, in-line with expectations. Powell noted that disinflationary process has begun

– EURUSD jumped above 1.10 mark for the first time since April 2022, following the decision. Gold price moved above $1,950 handle

– Morgan Stanley now expects Fed to pause its rate hike cycle in March while BlackRock expects slow and steady rate hikes as there is more work to do on inflation. Money markets see a 25 bp rate hike in March, after which rates would peak

– Indices from Asia-Pacific trade mostly higher today. Nikkei gained 0.2%, S&P/ASX 200 added 0.1%, Kospi traded 0.7% higher while Nifty 50 dropped 0.2% and indices from China traded mixed

– DAX futures point to a higher opening of the European cash session today

– Australian building approvals increased 18.5% MoM in December (exp. 1.1% MoM)

– New Zealand building permits for December slumped 7.2% MoM

– South Korean CPI came in at 0.8% MoM in January (exp. 0.5% MoM)

– Meta Platforms rallied 20% in the after-hours trading, following the release of Q4 2022 earnings. Company reported revenue at $32.17 billion (exp. $31.53 billion) and EPS at $1.76. Number of daily active users reached 2.00 billion (exp. 1.99 billion). Meta also announced a $40 billion stock buyback

– Cryptocurrencies are trading mostly higher today. Bitcoin gains 0.2%, Ethereum adds 1.8% and Binanceoin rallies almost 4%

– Oil and natural gas are trading around 0.2% higher on the day

– Precious metals benefit from USD weakening. Silver, platinum and palladium gain 0.5-0.6% while gold trades 0.1% higher

– NZD and JPY are the best performing major currencies while CAD and USD lag the most