The Fed’s Meeting Minutes were released yesterday and came as no surprise to the market. The minutes basically reaffirmed what had been stated previously; that interest rates will remain low for a considerable time after the tapering process has ended. U.S. stocks rallied as investors welcomed the decision to remain flexible. Further gains were seen due to advancement in the tech sector from companies such as Google and Netflix. At the close of the session, the S&P 500 had gained 0.81% and the Dow Jones had gained 0.97%. Asian stocks also gained, following U.S. sentiment. The Nikkei added 2.11% as the Dollar strengthened against the Yen reaching ¥101.41. The Chinese HSBC Manufacturing PMI came out above expectations pushing the Hang Seng higher to close 0.51% higher. European markets opened mixed after mixed PMI data from across the Eurozone.
WTI Crude has continued to climb and reached a monthly high. The commodity is trading above $104/ barrel after the EIA reported a drop in weekly crude inventories. Gold climbed after the meeting minutes reaching a two week low. However, the metal then rebounded and is once again climbing due to reports or increased fighting in Ukraine. Several Ukrainian soldiers died in an attack. In addition to this, India’s Central bank has reduced restrictions on Gold imports which should boost demand for gold and thus, prices.
Today’s Main Events:
08.30 GMT: GBP – GDP – measures the annualized change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the economy.
12.30 GMT: CAD – Core Retail Sales – measures the change in the total value of sales at the retail level in Canada, excluding automobiles
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.
May 22, 2014 – Daily Market News
Today’s Hot Asset: USD
The Fed’s Meeting Minutes were released yesterday and came as no surprise to the market. The minutes basically reaffirmed what had been stated previously; that interest rates will remain low for a considerable time after the tapering process has ended. U.S. stocks rallied as investors welcomed the decision to remain flexible. Further gains were seen due to advancement in the tech sector from companies such as Google and Netflix. At the close of the session, the S&P 500 had gained 0.81% and the Dow Jones had gained 0.97%. Asian stocks also gained, following U.S. sentiment. The Nikkei added 2.11% as the Dollar strengthened against the Yen reaching ¥101.41. The Chinese HSBC Manufacturing PMI came out above expectations pushing the Hang Seng higher to close 0.51% higher. European markets opened mixed after mixed PMI data from across the Eurozone.
WTI Crude has continued to climb and reached a monthly high. The commodity is trading above $104/ barrel after the EIA reported a drop in weekly crude inventories. Gold climbed after the meeting minutes reaching a two week low. However, the metal then rebounded and is once again climbing due to reports or increased fighting in Ukraine. Several Ukrainian soldiers died in an attack. In addition to this, India’s Central bank has reduced restrictions on Gold imports which should boost demand for gold and thus, prices.
Today’s Main Events:
08.30 GMT: GBP – GDP – measures the annualized change in the inflation-adjusted value of all goods and services produced by the economy.
12.30 GMT: CAD – Core Retail Sales – measures the change in the total value of sales at the retail level in Canada, excluding automobiles
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.
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