SHANGHAI, May 4 (SMM) –Market will digest the US Fed’s policy decision and a series of US economic data, including March durable goods orders, last week’s initial jobless claims, April layoffs today.
The preliminary figure of US March durable goods orders rose 0.7%, missing forecast for 1.3% increase. It is expected that the final figure will hold stable. If the figure shows improvement, the US dollar will get a big boost.
As expected, the US Fed decided to keep interest rate unchanged and did not mention cutting balance sheet. The US Fed remained optimistic over labor market and inflation. The US Fed considered economic slowdown in Q1 as temporary and expects the US economy to expand mildly in the future. Despite mild growth in household expenditure, fundamentals that support good momentum in consumption growth remain solid. The US Fed reiterates short-term risks facing US economy are “largely balanced” and interest rate path will depend on future economic data.
The US Fed’s optimism over US economy triggered expectations that there is a good chance for interest rate hike in June, which boosted the US dollar. Chief economist at Morgan Stanley said earlier that the way for interest rate hike in June will be paced as long as the US Fed show cautious and optimistic expectations for US economic outlook during its policy meeting.
Elabe poll result showed Macron was more popular with support rate at 63% against 34% for his opponent. 55% of people think that Macron “knows me the best”, 62% of people think Macron is more honest, 60% of people think Macron’s value is closer to themselves, 53% of people believe Macron is more capable of changing France’s current situation, while 64% of believe Macron is more appropriate for being president.
Fred Upton and Billy Long, two important members of the Republican Party announced to support alternative program that replaces Obama media care after meeting with US President Trump. This marks a key victory for the Republican Party in fighting for vote in Trump’s medical reform program. The setback over medical reform program earlier triggered doubt that Trump’s other policies will not be carried out smoothly.
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