Wall Street Today | Chip Designer Arm Jumps 25% in Debut Win for Owner SoftBank

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and his colleagues will likely shy away from signaling they’re done raising interest rates when they meet next week.

With inflation still above its 2% target and economic growth solid, US central bankers will probably retain a bias toward tighter policy at their September 19-20 meeting even as they hold rates steady.

The European Central Bank raised interest rates for the 10th consecutive time as President Christine Lagarde signaled a gear shift that could mean the peak has been reached.

While economists and investors now see the 4% level set on Thursday as the high point for borrowing costs in the current tightening cycle, the ECB chief insisted that she can’t say if that’s the case.

Benchmark U.S. oil futures closed above $90 a barrel Thursday for the first time since November, a sign that the rise in fuel prices driving resurgent inflation may have higher to climb. The last time that oil was so expensive, crude prices were still coming down from the rise when Russia invaded Ukraine.

Strong global demand and extended production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its market allies fuel the recent run. On Thursday, West Texas Intermediate crude for October delivery added $1.64 a barrel, to end at $90.16, up 35% since mid-March.

US mortgage rates rose for the first time since late August, raising the pressure on borrowers. Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday that the average for a 30-year, fixed loan climbed to 7.18% from 7.12% a week earlier.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain is preparing to hit all three Detroit carmakers with targeted walkouts at strategic locations in several states in a play to both maximize the union’s strike fund and sow chaos at the companies.