The FOMC Meeting Minutes were released yesterday. The minutes were slightly hawkish, with the Fed hinting that interest rates could be raised sooner than expected. However, officials remained divided on how quickly the economy is actually improving following better than expected labour data and rising inflation. Many analysts believe that the target for increasing rates is still mid- 2015 and traders took the news as bullish. U.S. stocks climbed following the release and the S&P 500 closed 0.25% higher, just below a record at 1,986.51. The Dow Jones closed 0.35% at 16,979.13. Asian markets were mixed across the region. The Nikkei gained 0.85% as the Dollar climbing against the Yen, trading at ¥103.75 compared to ¥103.29 the previous day. The Hang Seng, however, lost 0.66% after China released worse than expected HSBC Manufacturing PMI, which fell to a 3 month low of 50.3. European markets are higher today as markets track U.S. gains and the German Manufacturing PMI came out above expectations. Currently, the CAC 40 is up 0.63% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.40% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.32%.
WTI Crude declined despite a report from the EIA which showed a decline in inventories. The weaker than expected Chinese data was bearish for the commodity. Losses have been continuous recently as global demand seems to be waning. Gold fell to a 2 month low as the FOMC Minutes boosted the Dollar. Tomorrow both Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi will be speaking and could cause some great trading opportunities for the metal.
Today’s Main Events:
07.30 GMT: EUR – German Manufacturing PMI – Measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector.
08.30 GMT: GBP – Retail Sales – measure the change in the total value of inflation-adjusted sales at the retail level
14.00 GMT: USD – Existing Home Sales – measures the change in the annualized number of existing residential buildings that were sold during the previous month.
14.00 GMT: USD – Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index – rates the relative level of general business conditions in Philadelphia.
August 21, 2014 – Daily Market News
Today’s Hot Asset: USD
The FOMC Meeting Minutes were released yesterday. The minutes were slightly hawkish, with the Fed hinting that interest rates could be raised sooner than expected. However, officials remained divided on how quickly the economy is actually improving following better than expected labour data and rising inflation. Many analysts believe that the target for increasing rates is still mid- 2015 and traders took the news as bullish. U.S. stocks climbed following the release and the S&P 500 closed 0.25% higher, just below a record at 1,986.51. The Dow Jones closed 0.35% at 16,979.13. Asian markets were mixed across the region. The Nikkei gained 0.85% as the Dollar climbing against the Yen, trading at ¥103.75 compared to ¥103.29 the previous day. The Hang Seng, however, lost 0.66% after China released worse than expected HSBC Manufacturing PMI, which fell to a 3 month low of 50.3. European markets are higher today as markets track U.S. gains and the German Manufacturing PMI came out above expectations. Currently, the CAC 40 is up 0.63% while Germany’s DAX is up 0.40% and London’s FTSE 100 is up 0.32%.
WTI Crude declined despite a report from the EIA which showed a decline in inventories. The weaker than expected Chinese data was bearish for the commodity. Losses have been continuous recently as global demand seems to be waning. Gold fell to a 2 month low as the FOMC Minutes boosted the Dollar. Tomorrow both Janet Yellen and Mario Draghi will be speaking and could cause some great trading opportunities for the metal.
Today’s Main Events:
07.30 GMT: EUR – German Manufacturing PMI – Measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector.
08.30 GMT: GBP – Retail Sales – measure the change in the total value of inflation-adjusted sales at the retail level
14.00 GMT: USD – Existing Home Sales – measures the change in the annualized number of existing residential buildings that were sold during the previous month.
14.00 GMT: USD – Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index – rates the relative level of general business conditions in Philadelphia.
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