U.S markets dropped as investors began to anticipate today’s FOMC statement and press conference. Traders are expecting Janet Yellen to remove the word ‘patient’ from the statement and it is believed that this is the next step towards hiking interest rates. The market began to speculate that this step would be made once February’s NFP figure was released and showed 295,000 newly employed people, above expectations for 240,000. In addition to speculation, markets reacted to weaker than expected Housing Starts data which increased by just 0.897 million instead of by the expected 1.049million. At session close the S&P 500 was 0.3% lower at 2,074.2 and the Dow Jones was 0.7%lower at 17,849.08. Apple jumped 1.7% due to reports that the company is in talks to launch an online television service.
Asian markets climbed today. The Nikkei added 0.55% as the Dollar remained high against the Yen, trading at 121.3. Japanese trade data also boosted sentiment as exports increased by 2.4% , much above the expected increase of 0.3%. Mitsumi Electric Co added 7.8%, Taiyo Yuden Co added 7.28% and Alps Electric Co added 6.42%. The Hang Seng added 0.91% as its second largest component, Tencent Holdings, climbed ahead of its annual results. Airlines also posted gains after due to hopes of lower costs due to falling energy prices. China Resources Enterprise added 4.62%, Kunlun Energy Co added 3.51% and Galaxy Entertainment added 2.23%.
European markets are mixed today. The FTSE 100 is up 1.35% after a budget announcement from George Osborne. This came after data hit the British Pound as the UK Unemployment Rate climbed to 5.7% and the Average Earnings Index increased by just 1.8%. Standard Chartered is up 8.03%, CRH PLC is up 5.45% and St James’s Place PLC is up 5%. The DAX is down 0.73% and the CAC 40 is down 0.01% as attention turns to the FOMC statement. In the DAX, Volkswagen is down 3.89%, Continental is down 2.87% and Daimler is down 2.7%.
March 18, 2015 – Indices News
U.S markets dropped as investors began to anticipate today’s FOMC statement and press conference. Traders are expecting Janet Yellen to remove the word ‘patient’ from the statement and it is believed that this is the next step towards hiking interest rates. The market began to speculate that this step would be made once February’s NFP figure was released and showed 295,000 newly employed people, above expectations for 240,000. In addition to speculation, markets reacted to weaker than expected Housing Starts data which increased by just 0.897 million instead of by the expected 1.049million. At session close the S&P 500 was 0.3% lower at 2,074.2 and the Dow Jones was 0.7%lower at 17,849.08. Apple jumped 1.7% due to reports that the company is in talks to launch an online television service.
Asian markets climbed today. The Nikkei added 0.55% as the Dollar remained high against the Yen, trading at 121.3. Japanese trade data also boosted sentiment as exports increased by 2.4% , much above the expected increase of 0.3%. Mitsumi Electric Co added 7.8%, Taiyo Yuden Co added 7.28% and Alps Electric Co added 6.42%. The Hang Seng added 0.91% as its second largest component, Tencent Holdings, climbed ahead of its annual results. Airlines also posted gains after due to hopes of lower costs due to falling energy prices. China Resources Enterprise added 4.62%, Kunlun Energy Co added 3.51% and Galaxy Entertainment added 2.23%.
European markets are mixed today. The FTSE 100 is up 1.35% after a budget announcement from George Osborne. This came after data hit the British Pound as the UK Unemployment Rate climbed to 5.7% and the Average Earnings Index increased by just 1.8%. Standard Chartered is up 8.03%, CRH PLC is up 5.45% and St James’s Place PLC is up 5%. The DAX is down 0.73% and the CAC 40 is down 0.01% as attention turns to the FOMC statement. In the DAX, Volkswagen is down 3.89%, Continental is down 2.87% and Daimler is down 2.7%.
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