5 Fundamental Events To Pay Attention To Today

Un trader a lavoro. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

 

 

Here are the top 5 fundamental events you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, November 1:

1. Global stocks mixed with Fed, U.S. election, data, earnings in focus

Global stock markets were mixed on Tuesday, as investors waited for the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, while monitoring increased uncertainty over the upcoming U.S. presidential election. Economic data and another batch of corporate earnings were also in focus.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a marginally higher open on Tuesday morning, as traders eyed the release of key data while weighing the latest concerns about an FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server.

The ISM manufacturing survey as well as reports on construction spending and auto salesare all due during morning hours in New York.

Elsewhere, European and U.K. stocks edged lower in choppy mid-morning trade, as investors focused on earnings from corporate giants such as, Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa), BP (LON:BP) and Standard Chartered (LON:STAN).

Earlier, Asian shares finished mixed, with positive Chinese manufacturing data boosting sentiment, while traders digested policy decisions in Japan and Australia.

2. BOJ, RBA hold policy steady

Both the Bank of Japan and the Reserve Bank of Australia held policy steady as expected following their respective policy meetings on Tuesday.

The Japanese central bank held rates at -0.1% and the pace of bond purchases unchanged, but cut its core consumer inflation forecast for the year ending March 2018 to 1.5% from 1.7%.

The yen was slightly lower, with USD/JPY up 0.1% to 104.93, within sight of Friday’s three-month highs of 105.52.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia announced it would leave cash rates unchanged at 1.5%, as labor market indicators remained mixed and inflation pressures were subdued, the central bank’s official statement said.

AUD/USD hit highs of 0.7673 following the announcement, the highest level since last Wednesday.

3. China manufacturing activity picks up

Activity in China’s manufacturing sector expanded at a faster pace than expected in October, two separate surveys showed on Tuesday, adding to views the world’s second-largest economy is stabilizing.

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index increased to 51.2 in October from September’s 50.4, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The private Caixin survey also hit 51.2, showing the fastest rate of improvement since March 2011.

4. Fed kicks off 2-day policy meeting

The Federal Reserve on Tuesday begins its two-day policy meeting, where it is not expected to raise interest rates, but could signal its intent to hike in December amid signs the economy is picking up steam.

Traders are currently pricing in a less than 10% chance of a rate hike this week, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool. For December, odds stood at around 78%.

5. Oil holds near 1-month low as U.S. crude supplies seen rising

Oil prices struggled near the prior session’s one-month lows on Tuesday amid speculation weekly supply data will show U.S. crude stockpiles rose for the first time in three weeks.

U.S. crude was down 8 cents, or 0.17%, to $46.79 a barrel, while Brent tacked on 13 cents, or 0.27%, to $48.74 a barrel.

Futures plunged 4% to one-month lows on Monday amid mounting skepticism over the implementation of a planned deal by OPEC to limit production.

 

Source: Investing.com
Image: Reuters