Gold, Most Other Commodities and Crypto – All Rise after Fed Minutes’ Hint about Slower Rate Hike Pace

U.S. equities futures broadly gained as minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting showed most policymakers felt it would be appropriate to slow the pace of interest rate hikes to fight inflation “soon”.

The Fed news trimmed the seemingly unstoppable bond yields hikes yesterday, and that helped lift high-tech stocks. All the FAAMG names broadly advanced. Salesforce (CRM) shares climbed 2%. Shares of streaming service providers also rose, with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shares moved up 5%. News Corp (NWSA) shares soared after one of the largest investors outside the Murdoch family opposed a potential reintegration of the company with Fox (FOXA). It was also another big day for shares of Manchester United (MANU), which continued to climb following word that the iconic soccer club may be sold.

With the Federal Reserve upping interest rates to get unrelenting inflation under control, investors have been keen to shift risk and instead put their cash into safe-havens like the U.S. dollar. While the dollar has soared in value this year, it experienced losses against the yen and euro following the release of the Fed minutes.

Once again, the meeting notes for the first time since the beginning of this year showed that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. “A substantial majority of participants judged that a slowing in the pace of increase would likely soon be appropriate,” Wednesday’s minutes said.

Commoditywise, gold prices firmed above the key $1,750/oz, consolidating gains after minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve. At the time of writing, spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,756.38 per ounce.

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) jumped slightly on the key yesterday’s event. The biggest cryptocurrency by market cap was trading for $16,593 at the time of writing, posting a 3% increase over 24 hours.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX improved by 0.77% at 11:00 a.m. CET. The French CAC 40 advanced by 0.54%, while the British FTSE edged higher by 0.1%.

On Fx front, the euro rose 0.13% against the USD, to $1.04162. The pound sterling was up 0.06% versus the U.S. currency, to $1.20734. A report issued by the Munich-based Institute for Economic Research (Ifo) showed Germany's business sentiment slightly recovered in November MoM. The figure came in higher-than-expected, reaching 86.3, up by 1.8 points from October's revised figure of 84.5. The Current Situation Index came in slightly lower than expected, however, landing at 93.1 in November, declining by 1 point on a monthly basis. Meanwhile, the Expectations Index reached 80, improving by 4.4 points in comparison to October.

Major stock indexes in Asia-Pacific also cheered the tonality of yesterday’s Federal Open Market Committee. Among others, Japan’s Nikkei ended the session higher by 0.95%. In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite, however, declined during the last trading hour to end the day lower by 0.25%, while the Shenzhen Composite traded mostly unchanged. Concurrently, Hong Kong's Hang Seng advanced 0.78%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite rose 0.96% at the close.