Two major G7 central bank meetings are due today, in the UK and Switzerland, with the Swiss expected to cut interest rates.
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Markets are primarily focused on yesterday’s meeting of the US Federal Reserve, and central bank meetings scheduled today in the UK and Switzerland. The Bank of England is expected to hold its relatively high interest rate of 4.50%, which has helped to make the British Pound a relatively strong currency over recent weeks, and to take a bit of a hawkish tilt in its report – this would likely be a little bullish for the Pound overall if it happens like this. The Swiss National Bank, in contrast, cut its interest rate from 0.50% to 0.25%.
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Yesterday’s policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve, as expected, did not see any changes in rates. The Fed sees inflation and interest rates remaining a bit higher than was hoped a few weeks or months ago, which is a minor hawkish tilt, but somehow the Fed also managed to calm markets, mostly by announcing a scaling back in quantitative tightening, and we have seen most stock markets trade higher over recent hours. The S&P 500 Index, and to a lesser extent the NASDAQ 100 index, may have found a medium or long-term bottom after printing a bullish V. The US Dollar has also gained since the Fed meeting.
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Gold is very much in focus after it continued to rise over another day into record blue-sky territory, trading at a new all-time high above $3,050 and threatening to reach even higher prices. Trend and momentum traders will be interested in being long here. Many analysts see Gold acting as a hedge right now against weak stock markets, and the precious metal might be getting a tailwind from the renewed prospect of all-out war in the Middle East, with the US bombing Yemen and Israel bombing Gaza.
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Copper futures gained again yesterday to close at a new 9-month high price. There is plenty of demand for this industrial metal which is widely used in AI applications, so it could be a good trade or investment on the long side. Copper micro futures are relatively cheap, with a position size of about $10,000. For smaller amounts, retail investors can look for spot Copper CFDs or ETF (CPER) alternatives to participate.
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In the Forex market, since Tokyo opened today, the strongest major currency is the Japanese Yen while the weakest is the New Zealand Dollar. The EUR/USD currency pair remains in focus, but that is because it has been reaching new multi-month highs and is close to a valid long-term bullish trend.
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Australian Unemployment Rate data remained steady at 4.1% as expected.
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UK Claimant Count (unemployment claims) data was higher than expected.
