Markets advance despite Fed move to start tapering - 4.11.2021

Todays’ Market Summary

  • The Dollar strengthening has resumed currently

  • The US stock index futures are steady currently

  • Brent is inching down currently after news Iran and world powers agreed to resume nuclear talks this month that could lead to the removal of US sanctions on Iranian oil, increasing global supplies.

  • Gold prices are edging higher

Top daily news

Stock index futures are mostly gaining currently after Fed announced Wednesday it would cut its bond buying by $15 billion a week from this month, while leaving open the option to quicken or slow the pace as needed. Microsoft added 0.26% after announcing that users of its Teams collaboration software would be able to appear as avatars in the first half of next year in video meetings, Facebook shares gained 1.08% outperforming market as the social network giant said it plans to stop using facial-recognition software that could automatically recognize people in photos and videos posted on the social network.

Forex news

Currency Pair Change
EUR USD -0.4%
GBP USD -0.2%
USD JPY +0.2%
AUD USD -0.9%

The Dollar strengthening has resumed currently ahead of the US Labor Department report at 13:30 CET expected to show 273 thousand Americans sought unemployment benefits over the last week, down from 281 thousand the previous week. The live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, fell 0.3% Wednesday.

Both EUR/USD and GBP/USD reversed their sliding on Wednesday as Eurostat reported euro zone unemployment fell to 7.4% in September from 7.5% in August, in line with expectations. Both pairs are lower currently. Both USD/JPY and AUD/USD resumed their climbing Wednesday with both the Australian dollar and yen lower against the Greenback currently.

Stock Market news

Indices Change
Dow Jones Index +0.07%
Nikkei Index +1.5%
Hang Seng Index +0.15%
Australian Stock Index +0.35%

The US stock index futures are steady currently after all three major indices ended at fresh all-time highs for the fourth straight day Wednesday. The three main US stock indexes booked gains ranging from 0.3% to 1% as strong readings on Institute for Supply Management Services PMI and data payroll service firm ADP private businesses employment underpinned investor confidence.

European stock indexes are mixed currently after ending up Wednesday led by mining shares. Investors will be watching closely the Bank of England policy decision at 13:00 CET today which may kick off a rate hike cycle though general expectations are the bank will stand pat. Asian stock indexes are mostly rising today with Nikkei leading gainers.

Commodity Market news

Commodities Change
Brent Crude Oil -1.1%
WTI Crude -0.8%

Brent is inching down currently after news Iran and world powers agreed to resume nuclear talks this month that could lead to the removal of US sanctions on Iranian oil, increasing global supplies. Prices ended down Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration reported domestic crude stockpile rose by bigger than expected 3.3 million barrels last week. The OPEC+ is meeting later today where the issue of the volume of production expansion is to be discussed. However, analysts say signs are the group will stick with its current plans. The US oil benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures lost 3.6% and is lower currently. Brent crude declined 3.2% to $81.99 a barrel on Wednesday.

Gold Market News

Metals Change
Gold +0.03%

Gold prices are edging higher currently. December gold fell 1.4% to $1763.90 an ounce on Wednesday, lowest settlement in about three weeks.
https://www.ifcmarkets.com/en/market-overview/market-overview-04-11-2021