Morning Briefing: It’s all about the Fed

It’s all about the Fed... Oil edges higher as US producers flounder... European stock exchanges unite to take on Wall Street...

Steve Randall
It’s all about the Fed
Markets are awaiting the Fed’s latest announcement Wednesday. While few would bet on any move on interest rates this time the details of its outlook will be closely scrutinized.

Asian indexes closed higher with the exception of Tokyo and Hong Kong and it was low volume rather than rising sentiment that led to the gains.

In Europe, markets are also trading higher ahead of the Fed. The impact of its announcement will not be felt in this session as it will be mid-afternoon before details are known. London’s FTSE is higher but subdued ahead of the latest government budget with a tightening of austerity measures almost certain to grab the headlines.

Wall Street and Toronto are expected to open higher.
 
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North America (previous session)
US Dow Jones 17,251.53 (+0.13 per cent) +8.00 per cent -2.80 per cent
TSX Composite 13,400.31 (-0.57 per cent) +6.73 per cent -9.84 per cent
 
Europe (at 5.30am ET)
UK FTSE 6,150.41 (+0.17 per cent) +4.92 per cent -9.61 per cent
German DAX 10,012.06 (+0.79 per cent) +9.60 per cent -17.72 per cent
 
Asia (at close)
China CSI 300 3,090.03 (+0.50 per cent) +1.75 per cent -16.61 per cent
Japan Nikkei 16,974.45 (-0.83 per cent) +5.73 per cent -11.80 per cent
 
Other Data (at 6.30am ET)
Oil (Brent) Oil (WTI) Gold Can. Dollar
39.56
(+2.12 per cent)
37.12
(+2.15 per cent)
1232.90
(+0.15 per cent)
U$0.7482
 
Aus. Dollar
U$0.7466

Oil edges higher as US producers flounder
The financial woes of US oil producers are fuelling expectation that their output will fall. The latest data from the American Petroleum Institute shows a drop in output to 1.5 million barrels per day; analysts were expecting double that. EIA production figures are due this morning. Both US crude and the international benchmark Brent were up by more than 2 per cent overnight having declined in the previous session.
 
European stock exchanges unite to take on Wall Street
Two of the largest European stock exchanges are to merge in a bid to compete better with New York. London Stock Exchange Group and Deutsche Boerse have agreed to a “merger of equals” subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. The deal would mean the German firm’s shareholders taking 54.4 per cent and London’s taking 46.6 per cent of the new company. Deutsche’s Carsten Kengeter would become CEO of the merged firm.

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