Nomura forecasts 50 bp Fed hike in March

SINGAPORE - Analysts at Nomura, Japan's biggest brokerage and investment bank, said they expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to hike its benchmark rate by 50 basis points (bps) in March.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell did not rule out such a move when asked about it after Wednesday's Fed meeting.

"He repeatedly appeared to differentiate the upcoming hiking cycle from the last time the Fed normalised its policy rate at a roughly quarterly pace," Nomura's analysts said in a note.


"We now expect a 50 bp rate hike at the March (Fed) meeting, followed by three consecutive 25 bp hikes in May, June and July," they said, adding that another 25 bp hike was expected in December.