What you need to take care of on Thursday, December 19:

Financial markets spent most of the day in wait-and-see mode ahead of the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy announcement.

The Fed delivered, as expected, a hawkish cut, resulting in the US Dollar soaring amid a risk-averse environment. Early in Asia, the Greenback pressures fresh weekly highs across the board, maintaining the strong positive momentum.

Following the anticipated 25 basis points (bps) rate cut, investors were surprised by a dot plot showing just two potential rate cuts in 2025, quite a hawkish shift. Later, Chair Jerome Powell sounded even more