The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25% to a range of 3.75%-4.00%, a move widely expected by investors and seen as symbolic to maintain credibility in fighting inflation rather than starting a new tightening cycle. Despite the hike, long-term bond yields remain high, reflecting ongoing market skepticism and potential volatility. Economic indicators remain robust, with August retail sales up 1.2% and the Atlanta Fed increasing its Q3 GDP growth forecast to 5.1%. The S&P 500 has shown resilience and earnings forecasts are improving, suggesting any market dips in September might be good buying opportunities ahead of Q3 earnings reports.
The Federal Reserve's symbolic rate hike provides context for today's Financials-sector performance on Pluang. For readers following this sector, here is Pluang's market snapshot as of Sep 17, 2026 19:12 WIB: out of 74 priced Financials stocks, 67 rose and 5 fell. Banco Santander SA (SAN) led gains with a 2.99% increase at USD 14.83 and 100% buy order activity, contrasting with SoFi Technologies Inc (SOFI) which saw a 2.26% rise but 86% sell order activity. Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST) also gained 2.62% at USD 25.50 with full buy interest, showing varied investor sentiment within the sector.
TSMC reports that demand for AI chips remains significantly higher than its production capacity. This supply-demand gap highlights the strong growth potential in the AI semiconductor market. As a result, investors see Nvidia, a leading AI chipmaker, ...
Ether (ETH) briefly fell below $2,400 before closing at $2,423.54, driven by continued net outflows from U.S. spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which have seen outflows in 13 of 14 sessions since late September. Despite these outflows, exchang...
Bitcoin saw the largest inflows and outflows among cryptocurrencies, attracting $27.32 million while also recording $18.63 million in withdrawals. Zcash ranked third in inflows with $11.19 million, behind Bitcoin and Ether. Other notable inflows incl...
On October 17, multiple cryptocurrencies reached new all-time highs and lows, reflecting volatile market conditions. Tokens like Quack AI (Q) and Hive Dollar (HBD) set new highs, significantly rising from their historical lows by over 700%. Conversel...
U.S. Bitcoin market indicators show a bearish outlook as institutional investors hold more short positions than longs, with leveraged funds on CME showing shorts at 2.1 times longs. The Coinbase premium remains negative, indicating weaker U.S. buying...
