FOMC left interest rates unchanged in the 5.25-5.50% range, in-line with market expectations. Market reaction to the announcement was muted with USD slightly gaining, while gold moved lower
FOMC statement showed that Fed still seeks greater confidence in inflation returning to target before cutting rates and that it is now highly attentive to risk to both sides of dual mandate, rather than only to inflation risks as was the case in June statement
Fed Chair Powell sounded slightly dovish during the press conference saying that September rate cut is on the table, but stressed that decision will depend on how economy evolves
Wall Street indices trade higher - S&P 500 gains 2%, Nasdaq rallies 3%, Dow Jones adds 1.1% and small-cap Russell 2000 trades almost 2.5% higher
Microsoft dropped around 1% after reporting slightly weaker than expected cloud revenue in fiscal-Q4 2024 (calendar Q2 2024)
Advanced Micro Devices launched today's trading over 8% higher after reporting better than expected Q2 2024 results. However, the majority of this gain was erased during the cash session
The next batch of US Big Tech earnings will be released today after market close, with reports from Meta Platforms, ARM Holdings and Qualcomm being scheduled for release
European stock market indices traded higher today - German DAX gained 0.5%, UK FTSE 100 jumped over 1.1%, French CAC40 moved almost 0.8% higher, while Dutch AEX rallied 1.4%
JPY is the best performing G10 currency today, after Bank of Japan delivered a 15 basis point rate hike. Decision can be seen as a surprise as economists were split over whether BoJ will hike rates or keep them unchanged
USDJPY dropped below 150.00 mark today for the first time since mid-March 2024
ADP employment report showed a 122k increase in employment in July (exp. 150k)
Canadian monthly GDP report for May showed a 0.2% MoM expansion (exp. 0.1% MoM)
Euro area flash CPI inflation report for July showed headline CPI accelerating from 2.5% to 2.6% YoY (exp. 2.5% YoY), while core CPI remained unchanged at 2.9% YoY (exp. 2.8% YoY)
Oil prices moved higher after Ismail Haniyeh, chief of Hamas political wing, was assassinated in Teheran, Iran. While Israel did not take responsibility for the attack, the country was blamed as perpetrator by Iranian authorities, who vowed to retaliate
DOE report showed a 3.44 million barrel drop in US oil inventories (exp. -2.3 mb), a 3.66 million barrel declines in gasoline inventories (exp. -1.5 mb) and a 1.53 million barrel build in distillate inventories (exp. -1.5 mb)