Markets rewind after Fed rate hold

Singapore

IN one stroke - or lack thereof - the United States Federal Reserve turned back the clocks for local markets, sending the greenback down to an eight-month low against the Singapore dollar and the Straits Times Index (STI) up to within a whisker of its end-2015 mark on Thursday.

A key interest rate, the three-month swap offer rate (SOR), also fell back to a level last seen in October 2015.

These came alongside a revival of risk appetite worldwide after the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) opted to keep its interest rate unchanged in its March policy meeting and signalled a slower path for future rate hikes.

But the current risk-on mood could fizzle out here as soon as early April, with all eyes now on upcoming US economic data releases and the Monetary Authority of Singapore's policy meeting, analysts said, adding that…