It's all about the Fed. Traders and investors have been positioning for months. As expected, the US central bank's policy makers have voted to lift interest rates.

"The Committee judges that there has been considerable improvement in labour market conditions this year, and it is reasonably confident that inflation will rise, over the medium term, to its 2 per cent objective," it said in a statement. "Given the economic outlook, and recognising the time it takes for policy actions to affect future economic outcomes, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/4 to 1/2 per cent. The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative after this increase, thereby supporting further improvement in labour market conditions and a return to 2 per cent inflation."