The Federal Reserve decided to maintain interest rates unchanged at 4.5% as expected by most analysts. 

The Energy Information Administration reported a sharp drawdown of 11.5 million barrels in US crude stocks last week to a total of 420.9 million barrels, whlile analysts only expected a drop of 1.6 million barrels. 

Gasoline stocks fell by 0.2 million barrels to 230 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose 0.5 million barrels to 109.4 million barrels. 

US stock indices rose on Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s policy decision later today.

US unemployment claims fell 5 thousand last week to 245 housand as expected by analysts. 

Later today, the Fed will announce its policy decision, widely expected to hold interest rates unchanged while releasing new forecasts for unemployment, inflation, and interest rates this year.

Markets are also analyzing the developing conflict between Iran and Israel and mutual threats, with US President Trump threatening to intervene. 

On trading, Dow Jones rose 0.7% as of 15:44 GMT, or 280 points o 42,500 points, while S&P 500 rose 0.6%, or 34 points to 6017 points, as NASDAQ added 0.7%, or 133 points to 19,657 points. 

Bitcoin lost modest ground on Wednesday but still traded near $105,000 following a 2% drop yesterday.

It comes as traders await the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions later today, which could hurt high-risk assets such as bitcoin.

Concerns were allayed in the markets as investors shrug off President Trump’s threats to enter the conflict against Iran.

Focus on Fed

Traders are now focused on the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions later today, expected to hold rates unchanged at below 4.5%.

The Fed will provide its forecasts for US growth, inflation, and interest rates this year, crucial for influencing the market’s future outlook.

Bitcoin hit $103,371 on Tuesday amid the Middle Easter tensions, which entered its sixth day with news about a potential US entry.

Escalation at any point remains possible and could shake the markets if Trump went ahead with a threat to strike Iranian positions.

Positive Signs

Despite the geopolitical concerns, there were positive legal signals, with the US Senate passing the GENIUS bill regulating Stablecoins, in wait for a similar approval by the House then the President.

It’s an important achievement for the crypto industry and puts a legal framework for their operations, boosting their credibility. 

Trump Media Seeks Launch of Crypto ETFs

The Trump Media & Technology Group sent a request to the SEC to launch new bitcoin and ethereum ETFs according to a new filing. 

This is the second such request of the Trump group, and will join a jam packed market for such ETFs in the US in recent months. 

Otherwise, recent Faraside Investors data showed investments into bitcoin ETFs surged to $408.6 million on Monday, the second highest this month.