The hawkish statements from Brainard caused a large-scale selling wave from stocks to bonds in global markets.
Brainard announced that the Fed’s $9 trillion balance sheet will be reduced rapidly compared to previous periods. Brainard was generally seen as a dove member.
The Fed will meet on May 2-3 to set the interest rate and discuss the balance sheet. The meeting minutes, where the Fed’s interest rate hike for March was held, will be released this evening at 21:00.
The MSCI Asia Pacific index fell more than 1%, with Japan’s Nikkei and Hong Kong Hang Seng leading the declines. The US Stock Exchanges also fell sharply after Brainard’s statements, with the S&P 500 losing 1.3 percent and the Nasdaq 2.3 percent. Oil prices, which have been rising with additional sanctions against Russia, are following a calm course today.
