Fed Decision On Rates This Afternoon  Image: Bigstock Stocks finished lower yesterday ahead of this afternoon's Fed announcement on rates. The Fed is widely expected to raise interest rates by 75 basis points. (Although, there is about a 25% chance that they go a full 100 bps. But the overwhelming odds are for 75 bps.) But the real question on everyone's mind is how high will the Fed go before they hit their target rate? At the moment, the midpoint for the Fed Funds rate is at 2.38%. If the Fed raises rates by 75 bps, as expected, that would put the midpoint at 3.13%. Previously, the Fed has said they see the target rate getting to 3-3.5% by year's end, while other members recently said they see it getting above 4% by early next year. You can expect plenty of questions regarding that when Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, gives his customary press conference after the announcement. The Fed will announce the change on rates at 2:00 PM ET. And Mr. Powell's press conference begins at 2:30 PM ET. In other news, the Housing Starts and Permits report showed starts at 1.575 million units (annualized) vs. last month's 1.404M and views for 1.440M. Although, permits came in at 1.517M vs. last month's 1.685M and estimates for 1.621M. Today we'll get another look at the housing market with MBA Mortgage Applications, and Existing Home Sales. But today is really all about the Fed. Could be a busy today. Best,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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