Today, market participants are awaiting the FOMC Meeting Minutes which may provide hints about the tapering of the bond-buying program
The key US stock indices showed a noticeable drop yesterday, logging the first decline after 9 days of constant growth. The Dow Jones slid by 0.8%, the S&P 500 index shed 0.7%, and the NASDAQ Composite decreased by 0.9%.
On Wednesday, stock markets in Asian on the contrary rose higher. China's stock market added 1.3%, while Japan's stock market increased by 0.6%.
As for the commodity market, oil prices halted their decline. Brent crude gets stuck in a narrow range of $69-70. However, it failed to rise above $70 and consolidate there. It indicates the weakness of the oil market. Data from the US Petroleum Institute showed a decrease in US oil crude stockpiles for the week -1.16 million barrels. This was a slight drop.
The coronavirus pandemic is still raging. There was 647,000 new cases yesterday. The United States reported an increase of 137,000 cases yesterday and a sharp increase in death toll. amounting to 873. As a result, the United States overtook Russia in daily mortality for the first time in a long time. In France and Britain, there were 28,000 and 26,000 new cases yesterday.
The S&P 500 is trading at 4.448. It is likely to stay in the range of 4.400-4.460. On Tuesday, traders evaluated an important report on retail sales for July, which fell by1.1%. The reading undershot the forecasts. The report of Home Depot, a major retailer, disappointed investors. It showed a decline in demand. However, the report of the largest retail chain, Walmart, showed a steady increase in sales. Online sales declined as shoppers can now buy goods online as well as in stores after the easing of lockdown measures in the United States.
Investors in the US are waiting for the publication of the Fed's Minutes. Yesterday, unofficial information from the Fed leaked to the media that the Fed would begin to reduce the bond-buying program in November this year and completely stop asset purchases program by mid-2022.
The US dollar is trading at 93.0. It is likely to remain in the range of 92.70–93.30. The US dollar rose sharply yesterday, coming close to the highs of the year. This was a reaction to the expectation of a change in the Fed's policy.
The USD/CAD pair is trading at 1.2610. It is likely to stay in the range of 1.2550–1.2650. The pair's trajectory is likely to mirror the movement of the US dollar index.
Currently, the US stock market is flat ahead of the publication of Fed Meeting Minutes.
