Powell Did Not Promise Additional Asset Purchases Yesterday, U.S. Federal Reserve left the interest rate unchanged and promised to keep rates low until the end of 2023. For the longer term, most Fed policy makers want to see a rate of 2.5%. However, the perspective of having low rates for years was not dovish enough for traders. The Fed did not expand its asset purchase program and added that additional government support was needed to boost the economy. S&P 500 gained downside momentum after the Fed’s commentary, and this momentum is set to be continued in today’s trading session as S&P 500 futures are down by more than 1% in premarket trading. WTI Oil Is Trying To Settle Above The ...

The September MPC The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England left interest rates unchanged at 0.10% today. Additionally, the MPC also voted to maintain its QE total at £745bn. The QE total consists of the BoE’s existing programs of UK government bond and sterling non-financial investment-grade corporate bond purchases financed by the issuance of central bank reserves. Both decisions were in line with market expectations. More importantly, the Committee voted unanimously in favor of a hold. Following some dovish chatter, none of the members chose to dissent this time around. The MPC Meeting Minutes While the vote to stand pat was expected, there was some degree of uncertainty over ...

The Day Ahead: For the EUR It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Key stats include finalized August inflation figures for the Eurozone. Barring marked deviation from prelim figures, the stats should have a muted impact on the EUR. Expect market reaction to the FOMC economic and interest rate projections and press conference to continue to influence. Closer to home, Brexit chatter and the BoE will also be of influence on the day. At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.44% to $1.1764. For the Pound It’s not a busy day ahead but a big day ahead on the economic calendar. While there are no material stats due out of the UK, the BoE will deliver its September monetary ...

The major U.S. stock indexes finished mixed, but mostly lower on Wednesday as traders digested the Federal Reserve’s pledge to keep rates low over the next few years. The Dow and S&P 500 added to gains on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered a policy statement that bolstered expectations it will keep interest rates near zero for a prolonged period of time. The Dow rose more than 1% and the NASDAQ Composite turned positive after the Fed kept rates near zero and promised to keep them near there until inflation is on track to “moderately exceed” the U.S. central bank’s 2% inflation target “for some time.” In the cash market on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P 500 Index ...

At the end of the trading day, the market’s reaction to the series of Fed announcements was mixed. Stocks initially surged after the Fed released its post-meeting statement and its latest economic forecast, showing it will keep interest rates at zero at least through 2023, as expected. Stocks gave up their gains as Fed Chairman Jerome Powell briefed the media, and described the Fed’s guidance as strong and “powerful.” Treasury yields moved slightly higher after Powell said the Fed plans to keep its asset purchases at current levels for now. Some bond pros have been expecting the Fed to increase Treasury purchases, and Powell did not commit to that. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 0.695%. ...

The U.S. Federal Reserve released its monetary policy statement at 18:00 GMT on Wednesday. Central bank policymakers kept interest rates pinned near zero and promised to keep them there until inflation is on track to ‘moderately exceed” the U.S. central bank’s 2% inflation target “for some time.” The change in guidance was in line with the Fed’s monetary policy shift announced last month that is aimed to offset years of weak inflation and allow the economy to keep adding jobs for as long as possible. This week’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting was the last before the U.S. Presidential election in November and contained a multitude of information that affects both the short-term ...

It was a bearish start to the day. Bitcoin fell to an early morning intraday low $10,682.0 before making a move. Steering clear of the first major support level at $10,647, Bitcoin rallied to a late afternoon intraday high $11,105.0. Bitcoin broke through the first major resistance level at $10,946 and the second major resistance level at $11,094. A late pullback, however, saw Bitcoin fall back through the second major resistance level to wrap up the day at sub-$11,000 levels. The near-term bullish trend remained intact, supported by the latest move back through to $11,000 levels. For the bears, Bitcoin would need to slide through the 62% FIB of $6,400 to form a near-term bearish trend. ...

The Majors It was another relatively bullish day for the European majors on Wednesday. The CAC40 and the EuroStoxx600 rose by 0.13% and by 0.58% respectively to mark a 4th consecutive daily gain. For the DAX30, a 0.29% rise delivered a 2nd consecutive day in the green, reversing 3 consecutive days in the red. Economic data was mixed on the day. Trade data from the Eurozone and retail sales figures from the U.S both disappointed on Wednesday. Upside on the day came as the markets looked ahead to the FOMC policy decision, projections, and press conference. On the geopolitical front, there was little to shift the market’s mood on Brexit, while EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ...

U.S. Fed Interest Rate Decision In Spotlight Today, the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce its Interest Rate Decision and provide commentary on the current state of the economy as well as on the central bank’s plans for the future. This is the first meeting after the adoption of a 2% average inflation target so traders will focus on Fed’s commentary about the potential trajectory of interest rates. The current market consensus implies that interest rates will stay close to zero for years. However, it is not clear whether the Fed is ready to keep rates at the bottom until the end of 2022 or the end of 2023. A firm promise to keep the rates near zero until the end of 2022 will not be dovish ...

The major Asian stock indexes are trading mixed early in the session on Wednesday as investors awaited the Federal Reserve’s view on the economy at the end of its policy meeting, although upbeat Chinese and U.S. economic data is giving the indexes a tailwind. Global equities markets rallied on Tuesday, first on data that showed China’s industrial output and retail sales picked up, and later on an increase in U.S. factory production. At 01:34 GMT, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index is trading 23425.55, down 29.34 or -0.13%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is at 24732.76, unchanged and South Korea’s KOSPI Index is trading 2439.21, down 4.37 or -0.18%. In China, the Shanghai Index is trading 3294.96, down ...

The Day Ahead: For the EUR It’s a relatively quiet day ahead on the economic calendar. Key stats include July trade data for the Eurozone. We don’t expect too much influence on the EUR, however, barring particularly dire numbers. On the day, the monetary policy and geopolitics will be key drivers. Brexit will be a key area of interest, with the FOMC policy decision and economic and interest rate projections of particular interest. We saw the Dollar tumble in response to the lower for longer and policy framework revision. Following last week’s ECB press conference, a dovish FED could see the EUR head back towards $1.20 levels. At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.05% to $1.1841. For ...

The major U.S. stock indexes finished higher on Tuesday on the hope the Federal Reserve would stick with its accommodative policy as the central bank’s two-day meeting got underway. The rally was impressive and a nice start to the week, but gains were limited as Apple Inc’s shares lost early gains following its rollout of a new virtual fitness service and a bundle of all its subscriptions, Apple One. In the cash market on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P 500 Index settled at 3401.20, up 17.66 or +0.52%. The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished at 27995.60, up 2.27 or +0.01% and the technology-based NASDAQ Composite closed at 11190.32, up 133.67 or +1.21%. Fed Begins Two Day Meeting ...