It was a relatively steady day in financial markets yesterday as investors adjusted positions ahead of a huge data dump and central bank day today. Two major US data releases both came in slightly higher than expected but the impact was reduced given the updates ahead today and US tech stocks dropped ahead of key ‘magnificent 7’ earnings reports later in the week.
US treasury yields dropped to 7-week lows ahead of today’s Federal Reserve update whilst the dollar held firm against most of the majors except the Yen which gained as traders weighed a potential rate hike from the Bank of Japan later today.
It is certainly the busiest macroeconomic calendar day of the week and many are saying possibly the year given the amount of updates that are due today as well as the potential impact of the central bank calls and traders are expecting volatility across the board as we progress through the trading sessions.
| Market | Change | Close |
| Dow | +0.5% | 40,743 |
| S&P | -0.5% | 5,436 |
| Nasdaq | -1.28% | 17,146 |
| USD | -0.03% | 104.55 |
| US Treasury – 2 Year | -2.6 bps | 4.360% |
| US Treasury – 10 Year | -3.1 bps | 4.147% |
| Oil – Brent | -1.4% | $78.63 |
| Oil – WTI | -1.4% | $74.73 |
| Gold | +0.8% | $2,403 |
Today’s Events:
Asian Session
- 11.30 am – Australia – CPI Data
- 11.30 am – Australia – Retail Sales Data
- TBC – Japan – Bank of Japan Rate Decision
- TBC – Japan – Bank of Japan Press Conference
European Session
- 7.00 pm – EU – Eurozone Flash CPI Data
US Session
- 10.15 pm – US – ADP Non-Farm Employment Change Data
- 10.30 pm – Canada – GDP Data
- 10.30 pm – US – Quarterly Employment Cost Index Data
- 12.00 am – US – Pending Home Sales Data
- 4.00 am – US – Federal Reserve Rate Decision and Statement
- 4.30 am – US – Federal Reserve Press Conference
