In Asian Equity Markets stocks sagged on Thursday, tracking declines on Wall Street after the U.S. Federal Reserve projected higher interest rates would persist for a while. Japan’s Nikkei eased 0.42 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.32 percent and Australia’s stock benchmark fell 0.64 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.13 percent and mainland Chinese blue chips declined 0.15 percent. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares fell 0.94 percent, after climbing as high as 160.37 in the previous session for the first time since late August.

In Currency Markets the dollar climbed broadly on Thursday after the Fed raised interest rates by a widely-expected half a percentage point overnight, and its policymakers foresaw making further hikes and keeping rates high for longer than earlier hoped. The euro fell 0.29 percent to $1.0651, while sterling lost 0.34 percent to $1.2386. The kiwi fell 0.3 percent to $0.6440, and against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose 0.17 percent to 135.705. The Aussie, often used as a liquid proxy for the yuan, fell 0.55 percent to $0.6826. The Chinese offshore yuan was last 0.3 percent lower at 6.9643 per dollar.

In US Equity Markets stocks closed lower in volatile trading on Wednesday following a policy announcement by the Federal Reserve that raised interest rates by an expected 50 basis points, but its economic projections see higher rates for a longer period. The Dow fell 0.42 percent, to 33,966.35, the S&P 500 lost 0.61 percent, to 3,995.32 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.76 percent, to 11,170.89. Nearly all of the 11 major S&P sectors ended the session in negative territory, with healthcare the sole advancer. Financials, down 1.29 percent, were the worst performing sector.

In Commodities Markets oil settled up more than $2 on Wednesday after OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA) forecast a rebound in demand over the course of next year and as U.S. interest rate hikes are expected to ease further alongside slowing inflation. Brent crude futures settled up 2.4 percent, to $82.70 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures settled up $1.94 to $77.28.  Spot gold edged 0.1 percent lower to $1,808.09 per ounce. Spot silver rose 0.8 percent to $23.92 per ounce, platinum fell 0.8 percent to $1,025.05, and palladium lost 0.8 percent to $1,913.89.

In European Equity Markets stocks were subdued on Wednesday after hitting near one-week highs in the previous session, as investors treaded cautiously ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s imminent interest rate decision. The region-wide STOXX 600 was flat by close. Rate-sensitive technology stocks declined 0.9 percent, while banks fell 0.5 percent. Defensive stocks such as Nestle and Unilever added 1 percent each, capping losses on STOXX 600. Zara owner Inditex rose 3.1 percent after the world’s biggest fashion retailer posted a 24 percent increase in net profit for the first nine months of its fiscal year.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields were little changed to slightly lower in choppy trading on Wednesday as bond investors stuck to the view that the Federal Reserve will soon have to pivot from an ultra-hawkish stance to something more neutral. In afternoon trading, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes  was down 2.9 bps at 3.473 percent. The U.S. 30-year Treasury bond yields was flat at 3.526 percent. On the shorter end of the curve, the two-year U.S. Treasury yield, which reflects step interest rate expectations, fell 1.1 bps to 4.217 percent.