Markets Painting Mixed Picture As Investors Await Fed Policy Meeting

With no economic data due on Monday, the mood in the U.S. market is likely to remain cautious as investors await the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, scheduled to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Fed is widely expected to hold rates unchanged, but the focus of the markets will be on the accompanying statement for clues about the timing of interest rate cuts. Earlier expectations of a rate cut in March have faded after hotter than expected consumer price and producer price inflation data, and the first rate cut is unlikely to happen before June.

Data on building permits, housing starts, existing home sales, jobless claims, and reports on manufacturing and services sector activity are due during the course of this week.

Wall Street futures indicate a positive start for stocks today. Nasdaq futures, up nearly 0.8%, point to a firm start for technology stocks. The S&P 500 futures are up 0.4%, while the Dow futures are down marginally.

Major European markets are slightly higher. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 is up 0.12%, Germany’s DAX is gaining 0.2%, and France’s CAC 40 is edging up marginally. The pan European Stoxx 600 is roughly flat.

The Dollar index, moving in a narrow range in the European session, is down marginally. The yield on U.S. 10-year Treasury Note is little changed from Friday’s closing level as investors gear up for Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting that gets underway on Tuesday.

In commodities, WTI oil futures are moderately higher. Gold is higher, although the upside is just marginal amid fading prospects of a rate cut before June.

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

The major markets in Asia

Japan’s Nikkei 225
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 closed 0.07 percent up at 7,675.80
China’s Shanghai Composite ended at 3,084.93, gaining 0.99 percent
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 0.10 percent up at 16,737.12

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.0903, up 0.12%
GBP/USD at 1.2738, up 0.04%
USD/JPY at 147.81, up 0.05%
AUD/USD at 0.6570, up 0.20%
USD/CAD at 1.3541, down 0.04%
USD/JPY at 149.07, down 0.01%
Dollar Index at 103.36, down 0.07%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 4.308, down 0.10%
Germany at 2.4570%, up 0.15%
France at 2.894%, up 0.18%
U.K. at 4.194%, down 0.08%
Japan at 0.763%, down 0.03%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (May) at $85.59, up 0.29%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Apr) at $80.92, up 0.41%.
Gold Futures (Apr) at $2,163.55, up 0.14%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $68,412.70, up 2.3%
Ethereum at $3,610.17, up 0.38%
BNB at $571.58, down 0.7%
Solana at $206.419, up 7%
XRP at $0.6143, down 0.6%