US Fed cuts interest rate by 25 basis points; first cut since December 2008

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since 2008, citing concerns about the global economy and muted US inflation, and signaled a readiness to lower borrowing costs further if needed.

Financial markets had widely expected the quarter-percentage-point rate cut, which lowered the US central bank's benchmark overnight lending rate to a target range of 2.00% to 2.25%.

In a statement at the end of its latest two-day policy meeting, the Fed said it had decided to cut rates "in light of the implications of global developments for the economic outlook as well as muted inflation