Quo vadis Fed?

Markets await Fed decision and potential QE taper

The highly anticipated Federal reserve meeting is due to take place today as US central bankers are set to announce the beginning of QE tapering after much deliberation. The decision has been a key subject for markets since it could have significant effects on stocks, commodities and the US dollar as "transitory" inflation continues to rise in the US, threatening the post pandemic economic recovery. While the taper announcement is no longer a game changer for investors, it would indicate the beginning of the process of normalisation for the Federal reserve and could precede several rate hikes in the coming year. These in turn could have significant effects on prices of tech stocks, which have benefited greatly from the excess liquidity seen in markets as a result of the Fed's dovish policy.

Nationwide HPI shows ongoing rise in prices

Today's Nationwide HPI report continued to highlight the steady increase in property prices in the UK with the price of a typical UK home topping a quarter of million pounds for the first time with prices up 0.7% month-on-month. While demand for homes has remained strong despite the expiry of the stamp duty holiday at the end of September, the situation remains unclear as pressure mounts on the BoE to potentially act in the near future by raising interest rates as the current situation could hinder the economic recovery moving forward.

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Walid Koudmani

Market Analyst working in UK-Italian-Arabic markets covering a broad range of assets including stocks, commodities, FX and crypto. English, Italian and Arabic Speaker with a B.A in Business Management. Quoted in many prestigious publications including the Guardian, Barrons and Lefigaro and winner of bloomberg top forecast rank Q-2/Q-3 2020.