Global Markets Rise as Fed Chair Warsh Avoids Hawkish Guidance

Global stocks and U.S. futures rose on October 16, 2026, following comments from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh. Speaking at an IMF gathering in Bangkok, Warsh declined to provide hawkish guidance or push back on rate expectations despite recent high inflation data. This stance led traders to reduce the probability of an October rate hike to 14%.

In the technology sector, Tesla shares jumped after Elon Musk unveiled a flying Roadster sports car equipped with landing thrusters and a 0-60 mph acceleration of under one second. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also worked to stabilize AI-related market volatility by defending the financial strength of CoreWeave.

Geopolitical and international financial tensions persisted. Donald Trump stated that Iran requested a halt to U.S. attacks, though he did not rule out using the Mother of all Bombs after the midterms. In Asia, Indonesian stocks experienced their steepest one-day decline since 1998 after MSCI proposed reclassifying the country from emerging-market to standalone-market status. Meanwhile, U.K. banks faced pressure over reports that Chancellor Rachel Healey intends to increase the bank surcharge to raise taxes on the sector.