Stocks fade yesterday’s post-FOMC rally, SNB shocker, bitcoin hovers above USD 20k

Central banks continue hawkish stance

Wall Street was quick to fade yesterday’s post-FOMC rally as the other major central banks are turning very hawkish with their respective inflation battles. Traders paid special attention to a surprise rate hike by the SNB, which paved the way for more increases in the foreseeable future. ​ The BOE also took rates to the highest levels since 2009 and will likely not be easing up anytime soon with their tightening cycle.

US economic data is showing a deceleration in activity, which is making Wall Street bring forward its recession calls. ​ Jobless claims remained steady, but everyone is focusing on a steady stream of layoff announcements from companies across housing and crypto markets. ​ The housing market is cooling quickly after both housing starts and building permits plunged, while mortgage costs surge. ​ Mortgage rates rose to 5.87%, the biggest one-week increase since 1987. ​

Traders went from expecting a soft landing to fearing an imminent recession. ​ Some consumers are already behaving as if we are already in a recession and that is a troubling sign for many of the S&P 500 companies.

Bitcoin

The news flow has been terrible for cryptos. ​ The Texas Securities Board is investigating the Celsius network‘s decision to suspend withdrawals and everyone is expecting restrictive guidelines to quickly make life difficult for crypto-lending firms.

Bitcoin declined as risk appetite left Wall Street as investors became worried about a much quicker deterioration for the US economy. ​ Surging recession fears are crippling appetite for risky assets and that has crypto traders remaining cautious about buying bitcoin at these lows. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

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Ed Moya

Ed Moya

Contributing Author at OANDA
With more than 20 years’ trading experience, Ed Moya was a Senior Market Analyst with OANDA for the Americas from November 2018 to November 2023. His particular expertise lies across a wide range of asset classes including FX, commodities, fixed income, stocks and cryptocurrencies. Over the course of his career, Ed has worked with some of the leading forex brokerages, research teams and news departments on Wall Street including Global Forex Trading, FX Solutions and Trading Advantage. Prior to OANDA he worked with TradeTheNews.com, where he provided market analysis on economic data and corporate news. Based in New York, Ed is a regular guest on several major financial television networks including CNBC, Bloomberg TV, Yahoo! Finance Live, Fox Business, cheddar news, and CoinDesk TV. His views are trusted by the world’s most respected global newswires including Reuters, Bloomberg and the Associated Press, and he is regularly quoted in leading publications such as MSN, MarketWatch, Forbes, Seeking Alpha, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Ed holds a BA in Economics from Rutgers University.