ASIA CLOSE - EUROPE OPEN - CENTRAL BANKS

jcramos (50)in #bitcoin • 7 years ago

Stock Markets
While the cryptocurrency market stole the spotlight this morning, global equity indices quietly rose higher.

After Friday's strong U.S. employment data and Chinese trade figures cemented optimism on the outlook for the world economy, Asian markets closed higher today. India's NIFTY50 added some much needed gains after a poor week of trading from December 5th.

In the US, the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq moved higher despite a terror scare in New York City early this morning which injured 4 people including the suspect. Generally speaking equity markets this week are unlikely to experience any major volatility given the somewhat quieter news agenda. Investors are still waiting for news from the Fed (see below) and any more updates on tax reform. The latest update here is that the Treasury Department released its analysis of the plans, and found that it does not pay for itself as Treasury Sec Steven Mnuchin originally vowed it would.

Central Bank Decisions in Focus This Week
Currency and bond markets are cautious ahead of a big week of policy meetings for central banks. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates to 1.5%, with traders looking for further comments on Wednesday about its future policy plans under its new head (Jerome Powell).

On Thursday its a double whammy, with the Bank of England and the European Central Bank announcing their plans for the UK and Eurozone. No change in rates is expected to be announced by Mark Carney of the BoE (pictured), but more bullish words on the future outlook could send the Pound higher. Likewise for the Euro, the ECB is likely to keep policy the same, but hints at a change of policy in the near-term may make the price of the Euro more volatile on the day.