Financial Markets Daily Report17 September 2026
Wednesday's session delivered a broadly constructive tone, with European equities outperforming their U.S. counterparts in a session dominated by the Fed's rate hike. European indices closed higher across the board while U.S. markets were more mixed, with the S&P 500 eking out modest gains for most of the session before closing lower after the Fed's meeting.
The Fed delivered a widely expected 25bp hike (FFR to 3.75%–4.00%) in a unanimous vote. Officials penciled in at least one additional hike before year-end in the updated dot plot, and Warsh reiterated that "inflation is too high and has been for too long". U.S. sovereign yields rose and the dollar strengthened, while euro area sovereign yields fell on lower oil prices.
In commodity markets, crude oil and TTF natural gas both retreated markedly — oil on reports that Saudi Arabia had made significant progress in repairing the East-West pipeline, TTF on news that Germany is weighing plans to boost inventories.