Stocks Will Shake Off Gloom and Shine, Defiance’s Jablonski Says

Reuters

U.S. dollar hits more than 2-year high on aggressive Fed hike outlook

The dollar surged to a more than two-year high on Friday, continuing to draw support from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments on Thursday that seemed to back a half a percentage point tightening at next month’s policy meeting, as well as his remarks on a likely consecutive rate hikes this year. The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback’s value against six major currencies, hit 101.33, the highest since March 2020, It was last up 0.6% at 101.16 =USD, the largest daily percentage gain since mid-March. “The macro fundamentals are still pointing to a higher dollar as short-term Treasury yields vs comparable maturity on sovereign yields are positive and inflation is high globally,” said Stan Shipley, fixed income strategist, at Evercore ISI in New York.