Market News

●         Asian Stock Markets : Nikkei up 0.49%, Shanghai Composite down 0.36% Hang Seng down 0.90% ASX up 0.26%

●        Commodities : Gold at $4,331.55 (-1.25%) Silver at $64.140 (-1.20%), Brent Oil at 105.76 (-0.03%), WTI Oil at 102.32 (-0.10%)

●        Rates : US 10-year yield at 5.002, UK 10-year yield at 5.3047, Germany 10-year yield at 3.5098

●        (USD)    Core Retail Sales m/m

         1.4% to 0.6%  expected

Stock futures moved higher on Wednesday evening after markets sold off following the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike in three years. Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 72 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures rose 0.2%…

IC – Europe Fundamental Forecast | 17 September 2026

What happened in the Asia session?

The hawkish Fed strengthened the USD, pushed USD/JPY higher, and pressured Asian government bonds. At the same time, New Zealand’s stronger-than-expected GDP and Singapore’s exceptional export growth provided positive regional economic signals. China remains important through yuan policy and equity performance, while oil is pulling back as Saudi supply concerns ease. Gold is showing resilience because geopolitical risk is helping offset the negative impact of the stronger dollar and higher yields.

What does it mean for the Europe & US sessions?

The main theme today is central-bank divergence and inflation risk. The Fed’s hawkish rate hike has…

• Bank rate decision 3.75% as expected
• Prior (July) 3.75%
• Bank rate vote 6-3 vs 6-3 expected (Pill, Greene, Mann voted to increase bank rate to 4%)
• UK inflation likely to rise further over coming quarters
• Monetary policy is being set to ensure inflation comes down to 2% sustainably
• The policy stance required to achieve this will depend on the scale and duration of the energy shock
• There has been little evidence so far of material second-round effects in price and wage-setting
• But the risk of such effects is greater the longer higher energy prices persist or are more volatile
• The risks to the inflation outlook are tilted to the upside, and more so since the time of the July monetary policy report
• Also voted unanimously to reduce the stock of UK…

IC – Asia Fundamental Forecast | 17 September 2026

What happened in the U.S. session?

The U.S. session brought strong retail sales data, with core retail sales rising 1.4% and headline sales increasing 1.2%, both above expectations. The Federal Reserve then raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.75%–4.00% and maintained a firm stance on inflation, supporting the dollar and Treasury yields while putting pressure on gold, silver, and other rate-sensitive assets. Traders should continue watching the Fed’s projections and press conference for further clues on the next policy move.

What does it mean for the Asia Session?

Thursday’s Asian session will primarily focus on the Fed’s rate-hike aftermath, the BOJ’s opening policy meeting, and…

FUNDAMENTAL OVERVIEW

Solana has come under some pressure this week following the failed cloture vote on the Clarity Act and the risk-off sentiment triggered by yesterday’s Fed rate hike. The cryptocurrency erased most of its losses as the market came back to senses and realised the FOMC decision wasn’t more hawkish than expected.

IDIOSYNCRATIC CATALYSTS

Looking ahead, the most important idiosyncratic catalyst is the Solana's Alpenglow consensus upgrade which is designed to replace TowerBFT and reduce finality from roughly 12.8 seconds to around 150 milliseconds. The Solana Foundation says the rollout is occurring in phases and it’s one of the largest protocol upgrades in…

FUNDAMENTAL OVERVIEW

Oil has been slowly edging lower since yesterday after Saudi Arabia said it was seeking to restore about half the capacity of its cross-country oil pipeline within days, easing some of the recent supply fears.

Saudi Aramco said it was working to bypass a damaged section of the route, allowing it to resume part of the pipeline’s capacity. The company is aiming to restore the pipeline to full capacity in about six weeks.

Meanwhile, Trump told reporters yesterday that the US was “hopefully toward the end” of the war with Iran, adding that he has spoken with Tehran “directly”. This is different from his previous hawkish comments…

US equity markets finished lower yesterday after the Federal Reserve delivered its widely anticipated 25-basis-point interest rate hike and indicated that at least one further increase is likely before the end of the year.

The Dow Jones recorded the largest decline, falling 1.21% to close at 51,461, while the S&P 500 lost 0.45% to finish at 7,551. The Nasdaq proved considerably more resilient, ending the session just 0.01% lower at 25,978.

US Treasury yields moved higher following the Federal Reserve announcement, with the most significant move occurring at the short end of the curve as markets adjusted expectations for the future path of monetary policy. The policy-sensitive…

September 17, 2026 | Analysis based on the supplied sector review through the September 16 U.S. close.

Healthcare is showing early signs of renewed buying interest, while Consumer Staples is losing support. That divergence is the main finding from the latest review of all 11 S&P 500 sectors: investors appear increasingly selective about defensive exposure, with Healthcare improving and Staples’ tentative recovery fading.

For traders and investors, buying “defensives” as a single theme may miss the more useful opportunity: identifying which defensive sectors are actually attracting demand.

Healthcare: an early recovery that still needs follow-through

Healthcare’s assessment improves from Cooling Off to Early Accumulation, meaning buying…