As widely expected, the US Federal Reserve hiked its benchmark Fed funds rate by 0.75 percentage point on Wednesday, for the second time in two months.

But much attention after the event focused on the Fed's rate-setting committee's observation that "recent indicators of spending and production have softened" and Fed chairman Jerome Powell's subsequent comment that "it likely will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases". Being forward-looking, financial markets rallied strongly, finally sensing light at the end of the tunnel, after an aggressive tightening cycle of four consecutive rate hikes.