US investors looking ahead to interest rates

The main US stock markets are still subdued in early trading as investors weigh up the current situation.

Matt Orton, the chief market strategist at Raymond Janes Investment Management, told the Reuters news agency that the markets were “digesting the shotgun wedding between UBS and Credit Suisse”, which saw the former take over its rival in a state-backed rescue deal.

He said with risks to the wider financial system “a little bit more minimised”, investors are now looking to what the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is going to do.

The Federal Reserve will decide on Wednesday whether to hike interest rates again or not as it tries to curb rising consumer prices.

Recent rises in interest rates have in part led to some smaller banks in the US getting into trouble.