Fed Delivers First Rate Hike in Three Years, Flags More
Stocks steady and the dollar holds firm as markets digest the Fed’s first rate hike in three years, while crude tumbles below $97 after Saudi Arabia restores pipeline flows.
Market Snapshot
All figures are indicative opening levels as of this morning, September 17.
Stocks are steadying after Wednesday’s Fed-driven selloff, with S&P futures up around 0.59 percent and the Nasdaq up around 0.50 percent.
The real move is in oil, where WTI is down around 4.70 percent below $97 as Middle East supply fears fade.
Gold firmed around 1 percent and the dollar held near 99 as markets digest a higher-for-longer message.
Nvidia edged up around 0.79 percent premarket as chips clawed back some of this week’s AI-warning losses, Exxon Mobil fell around 1.85 percent as crude retreated, and JPMorgan rose around 0.45 percent on the tailwind from higher rates.
Main Story
The oil shock that defined the start of the week is unwinding almost as fast as it built.
- WTI fell below $97, down around 4.70 percent, after Saudi Arabia said it would restore about half its East-West pipeline capacity within days, add an Oman export route, and arrange ship-to-ship transfers, per CNBC.
- Setting the macro backdrop, the Fed raised rates 25 basis points Wednesday to 3.75 to 4 percent, its first hike in three years, with 16 of 18 officials seeing another possible before year-end.
- What to watch is whether the retreat holds, because with the Fed signaling higher-for-longer, any renewed energy spike would land straight on an inflation-wary market.
Chart of the Day
WTI ran from the low $90s to a nearly four-month high around $104 as the pipeline attack built a war premium into every barrel.
That premium is now draining, with crude back near $97 after Saudi Arabia moved to restore flows and reroute cargoes.
Price has slipped below its 50-day average while holding above the 200-day, leaving the broader trend higher but the momentum clearly cooling.
Technical Trading
A few levels on crude, drawn from Investing.com’s technical page:
- WTI has broken back below $97.50, erasing most of the pipeline spike in two sessions.
- The 50-day moving average around $101 now caps the tape, with the 200-day near $95 the first real support.
- RSI has rolled over from overbought toward the mid-40s, momentum cooling without yet flipping bearish.
Global News
- Saudi Arabia said it will restore roughly half its East-West pipeline within days and full capacity within six weeks, easing the scare that drove crude to four-month highs.
- Saudi state producers arranged ship-to-ship crude transfers off Oman’s Sohar port for Asian refiners, adding an alternate route around the damaged pipeline.
- The Fed raised rates 25 basis points Wednesday to 3.75 to 4 percent in a 12-0 vote, its first hike in three years, with 16 of 18 officials seeing another possible this year.
- Brent, which neared $108 at the peak, fell back below $100 as the same supply relief flowed through global benchmarks.
- Weekly US jobless claims are due Thursday, the first labor read since the Fed’s move.
Texas News
Spring based Exxon Mobil slipped around 1.85 percent as the crude retreat pulled energy names off this week’s highs.
Permian producers keep pumping near record rates, leaving Texas output as a quiet counterweight to Middle East supply swings.
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Looking Ahead
Thursday, September 17: Weekly jobless claims give the first labor read since the Fed’s hike, with markets watching for any crack in the job market.
Friday, September 18: A light economic calendar lets traders digest the Fed’s higher-for-longer message into the weekend.
Wednesday, September 23: A round of Fed speakers offers the first post-decision color on how many more hikes officials really expect.
The Y’all Street Podcast
Tarek Saab sits down with investor and board advisor Michael Gentile for a look at where he sees the market’s biggest opportunities hiding. He breaks down why gold could be entering a new era, what rising debt and de-dollarization could mean for the U.S. dollar, and why junior mining companies may be dramatically undervalued even at record gold prices. Michael also shares how he hunts for 20 to 50x returns, what he learned from Warren Buffett, and why emotional intelligence matters more than intelligence when markets turn against you.
Prices from Yahoo Finance, CNBC and Fortune. Technical levels from Investing.com and FXStreet. News from Reuters, Al Jazeera and CNBC.
For informational purposes only. Not investment advice. Prices are indicative opening levels and may differ from your broker.
