Tariffs, FOMC meeting in spotlight this week

TRADE and the US Federal Reserve meeting will continue to dominate headlines in the week ahead, with the latest raft of tariffs on Chinese imports to take effect on Monday.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision is due on Sept 26 (Sept 27, 2am Singapore time), which will be followed by Fed chairman Jerome Powell's press conference. Analysts' consensus points towards a 25 basis points rate hike, with no major surprises expected. Instead, it is the economic forecast that will be worth paying attention to, and market observers expect projections to sound more hawkish than dovish.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average reached record highs on Friday ahead of Monday's major sector reshuffle, capping a week that largely shrugged off trade worries.