US Fed raise interest rates (again)

The Federal Reserve (the Fed) hiked interest rates by 50 basis points on 14 December, bringing its key rate to the 4.25%-4.5% range. Investors were indeed expecting a smaller hike after recent CPI data showed signs that past hikes have been working.  Does this mean that the investment market will have a Christmas rally?  The Fed’s dot plot showed that the peak interest rate for 2023 has risen to 5.1% from 4.6% in September and that interest rate is projected to stay above 4% in 2024. This is more hawkish and the market will be pricing in this new information. It also doesn’t help when Powell sounded hawkish, saying “we are not done.” Having said that, fortunately the Fed has entered a new phase where they start to think about how much to raise, rather than raising rates at all cost to tame...