Fed Fears Dominate Market Sentiment

Anxiety ahead of the Fed review dominated market sentiment across regions and asset classes. Bank of England’s monetary policy announcement scheduled for Thursday also added to market’s nervousness.

Meanwhile, data released earlier showed China’s manufacturing PMI persisting in the contraction zone. Inflation updates from Australia and France showed a slowing in inflation. Japan’s consumer confidence reading increased more than expected. The number of job openings in the U.S. surged to the highest level in three months.

Wall Street Futures are trading directionless. Major European benchmarks are trading with a negative bias. Asian stocks finished trading on a mixed note.

Dollar Index traded firm. Bond yields mostly eased. Crude oil prices dropped amidst concerns over economic recovery in China. Gold prices gained ahead of the Fed review. Cryptocurrencies mostly declined.

Here is a glimpse of the major world markets at this hour.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 38,515.00, up 0.12%
S&P 500 (US500) at 4,900.10, down 0.50%
Germany’s DAX at 16,933.92, down 0.23%
U.K.’s FTSE 100 at 7,666.72, up 0.01%
France’s CAC 40 at 7,677.15, up 0.00%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,657.35, down 0.11%
Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 36,286.71, up 0.57%
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 at 7,680.70, up 1.06%
China’s Shanghai Composite at 2,788.55, down 1.48%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 15,485.07 down 1.39%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.0826, down 0.13%
GBP/USD at 1.2670, down 0.21%
USD/JPY at 147.74, up 0.10%
AUD/USD at 0.6581, down 0.30%
USD/CAD at 1.3426, up 0.22%
Dollar Index at 103.55, up 0.15%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 4.019%, down 0.94%
Germany at 2.2070%, down 1.39%
France at 2.696%, down 0.99%
U.K. at 3.9030%, up 0.70%
Japan at 0.728%, down 1.15%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Apr) at $81.66, down 1.02%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Mar) at $76.98, down 1.08%.
Gold Futures (Apr) at $2,056.15, up 0.26%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $42,821.84, down 1.36%
Ethereum at $2,323.53, up 0.69%
BNB at $304.90, down 1.87%
Solana at…