ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF shares are trading sharply higher by some 13.98% to $56.26 since Wednesday afternoon. SQQQ is a popular, 3x-leveraged inverse ETF that tracks the Nasdaq-100.
Market indexes are trading sharply lower for the week as investors assess Wednesday's Fed commentary and 75 bps rate hike. Fed Chair Powell indicated there could be a period of much lower economic growth and that there was no painless way to bring inflation down.
What Happened?
The Federal Reserve raised its target fed funds rate by 0.75% on Wednesday to a new range of between 3% and 3.25%, its third 0.75% rate hike in four months. The Fed said it will continue with its previously announced plan to let Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities roll off its balance sheet on a monthly basis.
The Federal Reserve raised its target fed funds rate by 0.75% on Wednesday to a new range of between 3% and 3.25%, its third 0.75% rate hike in four months. The Fed said it will continue with its previously announced plan to let Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities roll off its balance sheet on a monthly basis.
“Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher food and energy prices, and broader price pressures,” the Fed said in a statement.
The Fed reassured investors that job gains have been strong and the unemployment rate has declined, but noted spending and production rates have softened.