SHANGHAI, Nov 3 (SMM) - This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of peer currencies, was up 0.19% at 94.106.
The dollar firmed slightly on Tuesday as the U.S. Federal Reserve kicked off its two-day policy meeting where it was expected to announce it will begin tapering its massive asset purchases put in place at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investors in recent weeks have priced in a wave of tightening from central banks as they bet policymakers are sufficiently concerned about rising inflation to end pandemic-era levels of easing.
The euro edged 0.25% lower to $1.15775.
U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday night as investors awaited a decision from the Federal Reserve on its tapering schedule.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 28 points, or 0.07%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.08% and 0.1%, respectively.
In regular trading, the Dow rose 138.79 points to 36,052.63. The S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.3%. All three major averages closed at records for the third session in a row. The small cap Russell 2000 rose slightly and closed at an all-time high.
Oil dropped below $85 a barrel on Tuesday, but remained close to a three-year high in choppy trade ahead of weekly U.S. supply reports expected to show a rise in crude inventories as traders also looked toward Thursday’s OPEC+ meeting.
Analysts in a Reuters poll expected weekly U.S. crude inventory data to show a rise of 1.6 million barrels. Industry group the American Petroleum Institute releases the first of this week’s two supply reports at 2030 GMT.
Brent crude was down 21 cents, or 0.3%, at $84.50 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 48 cents, or 0.6%, to $83.57. Earlier it had dropped more than $1 a barrel.
Gold prices fell on Tuesday as the U.S. dollar and equities gained ahead of a much-awaited U.S. Federal Reserve meeting that could provide a timeline on interest rate hikes amid rising inflationary pressures.
Spot gold was down 0.3% at $1,787.04 per ounce by 01:35 p.m. EDT. U.S. gold futures settled down 0.4% to $1,789.40.
Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Wednesday morning trade as investors look ahead to the end of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting for clues on tapering.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by 0.11%, with mining stocks shedding 2.8% to lead losses while health care stocks added 1.2%.
Investors around the world are gearing up for a busy week of corporate earnings, a key U.S. Federal Reserve meeting and October’s U.S. jobs report (out on Friday) which will give the latest indication of the state of health of the world’s biggest economy.
