Gold, Nikkei STOXX 600 notch record highs
Franc weakens, yen recoils from near multidecade lows
Fed still forecasting 75 basis points of rate cuts this year
Bank of England decision at 1200 GMT

SINGAPORELONDON, March 21 Reuters The franc weakened on Thursday after Switzerland became the first developed economy to cut interest rates this cycle, underscoring investors39; view that global rate cuts are coming soon and lifting shares around the world to record highs.

Gold prices and share benchmarks in Japan and Europe had already followed the SP 500 to alltime peaks earlier on Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated it would stick with its plans to cut interest rates this year.

The Bank of England wraps up a bumper week for global central banks later in the day but is expected to keep rates steady.

The Swiss National Bank cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.50, a surprise move which caused the currency to weaken. The euro rose by as much as 1.2 to 0.978, its highest since July 2023, and the dollar gained around 1 to 0.8963 francs.

The Swiss benchmark index was up 1 outperforming a 0.6 gain in Europe39;s STOXX 600 index, though the broad European benchmark is already at record highs. Swiss bond yields fell.

We39;ve watched with great interest Powell39;s speech and the SNB today, and it broadly validates the narrative that, although we had a bit of heat in some inflation prints and services inflation, overall central banks are in a relatively…