NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday extended its monetary stimulus to a U.S. economic recovery that looks at risk of stalling, renewing its effort to depress borrowing costs by selling short-term bonds to buy longer-dated ones.
COMMENTS:
TONY VOLPON, HEAD OF EMERGING MARKETS RESEARCH AMERICAS, NOMURAL SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL, NEW YORK
"They are disappointing the markets. The Twist amount, while no QE, was sort of at the low end of what people were expecting. So there is a bit of a risk-off move here, in equities, currencies, everything. But before acting more forcefully, I think people will wait for the press conference. The statement does say they are willing to do more. Hopefully we'll get more information at the news conference and see how dovish they are really.
STEVE VAN ORDER, FIXED INCOME STRATEGIST, CALVERT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC, BETHESDA, MARYLAND
"The Fed statement looks basically the same as April, but they extended Operation Twist until the end of the year. It was a tough call whether they would do anything and they didn't do anything particularly exciting. It's a plain vanilla extension of Operation Twist."
FRED DICKSON, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, D.A. DAVIDSON & CO. LAKE OSWEGO, OREGON
"The Fed extending Twist was expected. There may be some disappointment that the Fed didn't provide any strong hints in terms of new policy announcements."
MARK MARTIAK, SENIOR WEALTH STRATEGIST AT PREMIER/FIRST ALLIED SECURITIES IN NEW YORK
"I'm surprised markets have taken a slight turn downward, but markets don't feel good that there is extended liquidity. Pumping liquidity into the system concerns the market over time."
OMER ESINER, CHIEF MARKET ANALYST, COMMONWEALTH FOREIGN EXCHANGE, WASHINGTON, D.C.
"It is not as dovish as expected. The extension of Operation Twist to the end of the year had been expected. Above and beyond that, they did not signal they are ready for wholesale asset purchases, i.e. QE3. In that respect it is a little disappointing and therefore the euro has come off. The QE3 premium is starting to come off."
JOHN CANALLY INVESTMENT STRATEGIST AND ECONOMIST FOR LPL FINANCIAL IN BOSTON
"Right in line with what we expected, a little twist plus. Twist and they will maybe do something if they think it is necessary but I guess QE3 was too much of a political risk and they wanted to keep their powder dry."
(ON MARKET REACTION:) "There were a lot of guys out there with the finger on the sell button unless they saw balance sheet expansion and that is what you are getting."
DAVID KEEBLE, GLOBAL HEAD OF INTEREST RATES STRATEGY, CREDIT AGRICOLE CORPORATE & INVESTMENT BANK, NEW YORK
"It's very close to what the market expected regarding Operation Twist. However, the pace of Twist buying has already caused problems for the short end of the curve and I suspect that the two-year note will not like this. Overall, the equity market should be disappointed but will get over it and I would fade the rally in longer Treasuries."
JOSEPH TREVISANI, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, WORLDWIDE MARKETS, WOODCLIFF LAKE, NEW JERSEY
"The Fed move to extend the Operation Twist program is conservative and wary. The central bank is signaling its concern for the economic future, both American and European, without unduly damaging the present by weakening the dollar."
(Americas Economics and Markets Desk; +1-646 223-6300)
