Dollar falls after New York Fed President Williams’ dovish comments
US stock indexes resumed advancing on Wednesday as Fed’s Beige Book indicates ‘modest’ expansion in key districts. The S&P 500 rose 1.1% to 2937.78. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.9% to 26355.47. Nasdaq advanced 1.3% to 7976.88. The dollar weakening accelerated after comments by New York Fed President John Williams the U.S. economy outlook was worse than previously thought: 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 0.6% to 98.38 but is higher currently. Stock index futures point to higher openings today.
CAC 40 still leader among European indexes
European stocks recovered on Wednesday buoyed by news Italian rival political parties the 5-Star Movement and the Democratic Party will form a coalition. Both GBP/USD and EUR/USD rose sharply yesterday with both pairs lower currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.9% led by energy shares. Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 1.0%. France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.2% and UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.6% to 7311.26 as lawmakers defeated Boris Johnson in parliament n a bid to prevent him from taking Britain out of the EU without an agreement, prompting the prime minister Johnson to demand a snap election.
Hang Seng falls while Asian indexes gain
Asian stock indices are rising today after China’s Ministry of Commerce announced the US and China negotiators will meet in Washington in early October. Nikkei jumped 2.1% to 21085.94 as yen continued sliding against the dollar. Chinese stocks are mixed: the Shanghai Composite Index is up 1.0% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.6% lower. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index rebounded 0.9% despite continuing climb of Australian dollar against the greenback.
Brent lower
Brent futures prices are lower today. The American Petroleum Institute late Wednesday report indicated US crude inventories rose by 401 thousand barrels last week while gasoline stockpiles fell by 877 thousand. Prices rose yesterday: November Brent crude rallied 4.2% to $60.70 a barrel on Wednesday. Today at 16:30 CET the Energy Information Administration will release US Crude Oil Inventories.