{"id":58750,"date":"2026-02-18T21:38:44","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-hit-record-peaks-amid-hawkish-fed-signals-and-us-policy-friction\/58750\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T21:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T01:38:44","slug":"global-markets-hit-record-peaks-amid-hawkish-fed-signals-and-us-policy-friction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/global-markets-hit-record-peaks-amid-hawkish-fed-signals-and-us-policy-friction\/58750\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Markets Hit Record Peaks Amid Hawkish Fed Signals and US Policy Friction"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>ASX 200 and KOSPI reach historic highs<\/strong>, with the Australian benchmark hitting <strong>9,118.30 points<\/strong> and South Korea&#39;s index breaching <strong>5,600<\/strong> for the first time.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Federal Reserve minutes reveal a hawkish shift<\/strong>, as officials suggest potential rate hikes if inflation remains &quot;stubbornly high,&quot; cooling hopes for near-term cuts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>US immigration policy faces legal and private sector pushback<\/strong>, with a court nullifying a key mass detention ruling and a major warehouse owner refusing to support government detention plans.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vietjet Aviation (<a href=\"\/stock\/VJC\">VJC<\/a>) secures a $965 million financing deal<\/strong> with Griffin Global Asset Management for six new Boeing (<a href=\"\/stock\/BA\">BA<\/a>) 737-8 aircraft.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Diplomatic efforts in Geneva stall<\/strong>, as US officials report an impasse in high-level discussions regarding the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Asia-Pacific Markets Surge to Record Highs<\/h2>\n<p>Equity markets across the Asia-Pacific region reached unprecedented levels on Thursday. The <strong>ASX 200<\/strong> climbed as much as <strong>1.24%<\/strong> to reach an all-time peak of <strong>9,118.30 points<\/strong>, driven by strong earnings and commodity sector resilience. Simultaneously, South Korean stocks opened at a fresh record high, with the <strong>KOSPI<\/strong> index surging past the <strong>5,600<\/strong> mark.<\/p>\n<p>Despite the rally, the <strong>Bank of Korea (BOK)<\/strong> has flagged concerns over extended market volatility. The central bank vowed to maintain close monitoring of the financial landscape, as <em>high-valuation tech shares<\/em> continue to drive the index higher. In a related development, <strong>Seoul<\/strong> has dispatched a working-level delegation to the <strong>United States<\/strong> to discuss potential investment projects, signaling a push for deeper bilateral economic ties.<\/p>\n<h2>Fed Minutes Dampen Rate Cut Optimism<\/h2>\n<p>Minutes from the <strong>Federal Reserve&#39;s<\/strong> January meeting, released this week, indicate that officials are surprisingly wary of cutting interest rates. Several participants even suggested that the central bank may need to <strong>raise rates<\/strong> if inflation does not continue its descent toward the 2% target.<\/p>\n<p><em>Market sentiment shifted<\/em> following the release, as the &quot;higher for longer&quot; narrative gained renewed traction. Fed officials emphasized a data-dependent approach, noting that while the labor market remains resilient, the &quot;last mile&quot; of the inflation fight is proving difficult. This hawkish tone has kept <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/metal\/silver\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"silver price today\">Silver<\/a> (XAG\/USD)<\/strong> prices steady around the <strong>mid-$76.00s<\/strong>, as investors weigh the impact of sustained high yields on non-yielding assets.<\/p>\n<h2>Legal and Corporate Resistance to US Immigration Policy<\/h2>\n<p>The <strong>Trump administration\u2019s<\/strong> immigration agenda encountered significant friction on Thursday. A <strong>U.S. court nullified a ruling<\/strong> by the <strong>Immigration Appeals Board<\/strong> that had endorsed the administration\u2019s mass detention approach. This legal setback follows a growing wave of challenges against the mandatory detention of undocumented immigrants without bond hearings.<\/p>\n<p>On the corporate front, the owner of a major warehouse earmarked for use as a detention center has <strong>refused to let the US government use the facility<\/strong>. The owner cited deepening unease over current immigration policies as the primary reason for the refusal. This development complicates the <strong>Department of Homeland Security&#39;s<\/strong> plan to expand detention capacity through the conversion of industrial real estate.<\/p>\n<h2>Corporate Developments and Stalled Diplomacy<\/h2>\n<p>In the aviation sector, <strong>Vietjet Aviation (<a href=\"\/stock\/VJC\">VJC<\/a>)<\/strong> announced a <strong>$965 million<\/strong> aircraft financing arrangement with <strong>Griffin Global Asset Management<\/strong>. The deal covers the acquisition of six <strong>Boeing (<a href=\"\/stock\/BA\">BA<\/a>) 737-8<\/strong> planes, marking a significant expansion of the carrier&#39;s narrow-body fleet.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts appear to have hit a wall in <strong>Geneva<\/strong>. According to a U.S. official, discussions aimed at resolving the Ukraine-Russia conflict have stalled. Reports from <em>Axios<\/em> suggest that the political track of the negotiations has reached an impasse, even as military-level communications continue to advance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways ASX 200 and KOSPI reach historic highs, with the Australian benchmark hitting 9,118.30 points and South Korea&#39;s index 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