Key Facts
What the world’s markets decided. The US Federal Reserve held interest rates steady but delivered a shock — its new forecasts point to a rate hike later this year rather than the cuts investors had hoped for. Wall Street fell on the news, with the S&P 500 down −1.21% and big technology stocks hit hardest.
Why it stung. At new chair Kevin Warsh’s first meeting, the Fed’s own projections raised the expected year-end rate to 3.8% from 3.4%, and half its members now see a hike coming in 2026. Short-term US government bond yields jumped to their highest in over a year.
Who got hit hardest. The most expensive stocks fell the most — Meta dropped −5.44%, Microsoft −3.79% and Amazon −3.46% — and the gold and silver that investors had bought as a hedge tumbled too (silver −4.39%) as higher rates make them less attractive.
The surprise in the scan. Latin America was the most resilient region in the world — down just −0.20% as a group — and Peru’s Credicorp actually jumped +6.22%, because in a higher-for-longer world banks earn more while pricey tech struggles.
