Fed unlikely to derail equity markets, weaken NZ dollar given risks to US rate-hike track

Thu, 17 Dec 2015

By Jonathan Underhill and Sophie Boot Dec. 17 (BusinessDesk) - The US Federal Reserve's first interest rate hike in almost a decade is unlikely to derail equity markets and further increases may not weaken the New Zealand dollar as much as Reserve Bank governor Graeme Wheeler had hoped, market analysts say. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index was up about 0.2 percent in midday trading, having gained about 9 percent this year. It reached a record high at the start of December. The kiwi dollar has been volatile since the Fed decision and subs...

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