Markets Wait For Fed Outcome

Anxiety ahead of the monetary policy review by the Federal Reserve kept market sentiment in check on Tuesday. The Fed’s interest rate decision would be known on Wednesday whereas the Bank of England’s announcement is scheduled for Thursday.

Meanwhile data released earlier showed the Euro Area economy unexpectedly stalled in the last quarter of 2023, versus a 0.1 percent contraction in the previous period. Markets had expected a decline of 0.1 percent.

Wall Street Futures are trading in overnight negative territory. Major European benchmarks are trading above the flatline. Asian stocks finished on a mixed note.

Dollar Index edged lower. Bond yields moved in a mixed fashion. Rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East supported a spike in crude oil prices. Gold prices remained firm amidst the dollar’s weakness. Cryptocurrencies rebounded emphatically.

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

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 38,289.00, down 0.12%
S&P 500 (US500) at 4,924.10, down 0.08%
Germany’s DAX at 16,960.53, up 0.11%
U.K.’s FTSE 100 at 7,671.72, up 0.48%
France’s CAC 40 at 7,663.98, up 0.30%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,657.45, up 0.39%
Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 36,065.86, up 0.05%
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 at 7,600.20, up 0.29%
China’s Shanghai Composite at 2,830.53, down 1.83%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 15,703.45 down 2.32%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.0825, down 0.07%
GBP/USD at 1.2680, down 0.22%
USD/JPY at 147.37, down 0.08%
AUD/USD at 0.6603, down 0.11%
USD/CAD at 1.3404, down 0.05%
Dollar Index at 103.53, down 0.08%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 4.059%, down 0.81%
Germany at 2.2430%, up 0.22%
France at 2.727%, up 0.15%
U.K. at 3.9095%, up 0.86%
Japan at 0.705%, down 0.98%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Apr) at $82.14, up 0.38%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Mar) at $77.13, up 0.46%.
Gold Futures (Apr) at $2,053.60, up 0.44%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $43,375.28, up 2.72%
Ethereum at $2,305.90, up 1.70%
BNB at $310.70, up 0.90%
Solana at $103.34, up 6.09%
XRP at $0.5328,…