Global Markets Eagerly Await FOMC Decision

GB Market Commentary 04/05/2022

by Marcus Sotiriou

Today is set up for huge volatility as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meet to announce their decision on how much they will raise rates by. This event has led most investors to sell equities and crypto over the past month as they fear a 50 basis point rate hike, which seems highly likely. The market is predicting a 97.4% chance of a 50 basis point hike, so I think this event could be priced in. Last FOMC meeting in March, we had sell pressure leading up to the day of the meeting before a multi-week rally Although hiking rates is generally bad conditions for risk-on assets, U.S. consumer data is strong at the moment, so I remain optimistic that the result of this hike will not be catastrophic and that this FOMC meeting has been priced in. The FOMC will announce their latest policy statement at 2pm ET / 7pm UK.

Global asset management firm Vaneck are entering the NFT space by releasing 1,000 NFTs this week. Vaneck, who have $85 billion of assets under management said, “We’ve designed the Vaneck Community NFT to function like a digital membership card.” This is the first NFT offered by a global asset manager, and I think it is a great step towards educating the mainstream about the real-world utility inherent in the NFT structure. An executive at Wisdomtree, an asset management firm with $78 billion under management, says that “Cryptocurrencies have firmly established themselves as a new asset class and it truly is something that people can’t ignore.”

Wisdomtree, another asset management firm with $78 billion under management, says that “Cryptocurrencies have firmly established themselves as a new asset class and it truly is something that people can’t ignore.” The fact that major financial institutions like Wisdomtree are recommending risk-assessed allocations to the crypto space is a very bullish sign for the industry.