Global shares head for worst week in a month, while the dollar trades near 2-month highs as the Fed’s shift spooks investors

Global shares head for worst week in a month, while the dollar trades near 2-month highs as the Fed’s shift spooks investors

Global shares on Friday headed for their steepest weekly drop in a month, while the dollar neared two-month highs, as investors began to prepare for an end to the Federal Reserve's multitrillion-dollar economic-support program. The Fed met this week to discuss monetary policy and, in light of the resilience of the recovery in the US economy and the pickup in consumer inflation, indicated it might raise interest rates by the end of 2023, sooner than it originally expected. This more-hawkish stance has forced equity indexes off recent record highs, boosted the dollar, and forced government bond yields up, as chances grow for the central bank to taper the vast asset-purchase program it put in place last year to keep borrowing rates low and protect the economy. Futures on the and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were flat Friday, while those on the rose 0.2%, suggesting tech stocks might get a lift when trading starts later in the day. The MSCI All-World index of global shares was down 0.4% on the day, heading for a 0.64% decline this week, the largest in percentage terms in a month. "Investors have been digesting the latest statements from the US central bank, which surprised