The central bank is expected to announce that it will begin to unwind its bond purchases as soon as this month
Wall Street stocks climbed to fresh all-time highs on the first trading day of November despite mixed economic data out of the United States. IHS Markit’s manufacturing PMI declined to 58.4 from 60.7 while the ISM’s manufacturing PMI arrived at 60.8, to come in slightly better than the market expectation. The employment index edged higher to 52 from 50.2. As such, the Dow Jones gained 0.26%, the S&P 500 rose nearly 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6%.
Asian stocks were mixed-to-lower on Tuesday as investors are getting cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting Tuesday and Wednesday. The central bank is widely expected to announce on Wednesday that it will begin to unwind its bond purchases as soon as this month. Despite investors being ready for such an outcome, the hawkish decision itself could put global stocks under pressure.
European equities opened lower today as the overall risk sentiment remains more tentative, with all eyes being still on the Fed. The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.3% in early trade to come off from an all-time high registered on Monday. In individual stocks, Standard Chartered reported a strong pre-tax profit for the third quarter. Still, the company’s stocks fell over 5.5% in London.
In currencies, the dollar looks relatively steady on Tuesday to come off from local peaks seen on Friday. EURUSD managed to bounce north but failed to overcome the 1.1600 figure and turned negative on the day during the European hours. It looks like the common currency would stay on the defensive in the coming days amid the upcoming Fed meeting.
