The US central bank Federal Reserve has cut the interest rate this time as expected. The US Fed has reduced interest rates by 25 basis points i.e. 0.25%. The Fed announced this rate cut late Thursday night. This rate cut has been done in view of the reduction in inflation and expansion of economic activities. The Fed said that the job market has improved, but the growth is still very low.
Inflation declines
The Fed said that the inflation rate is constantly coming closer to the US Central Bank’s target of 2%. The Federal Reserve said that the job market has improved, but the growth is low. The Federal Open Market Committee, the panel that sets the interest rate of the central bank, said that economic activities are expanding at a strong pace. In the meeting, it was decided to reduce the key interest rate to a range of 4.50% to 4.75%. US Fed Chairman Jerome Powell also said that the elections have not had any effect on the policy decision.
Will it affect the stock market?
Stock market investors were keeping an eye on the Fed’s decision. As per the investors’ expectations, the Fed has cut the interest rate by 0.25 percent. According to experts, this decision of the Fed will not have any significant impact on the stock market. Because the market was already expecting that the Fed could cut the rate by 0.25 percent. The Indian stock market closed with a big decline on Thursday. The Bombay Stock Exchange index Sensex closed at 79,541, down 1.04 percent or 836 points. At the same time, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty closed at 24,199, down 1.16 percent or 284 points.