Global Stocks Drift Ahead of Fed’s Final Policy Decision

LONDON, U.K. – US stocks and equity futures drifted on Wednesday as market players wait for the year’s final policy decision of the Federal Reserve, shifting market focus away from the US-China trpostade discussions for a while.

On the stocks front, futures on the benchmark S&P 500 index recorded a modest 0.1% increase early today. The MSCI Emerging Market Index also traded with a 0.5% increase on Wednesday, while the MSCI Asian Pacific index advanced by 0.2%. On the other hand, the Stoxx Europe 600 index was mostly trading flat for the day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index mostly fluctuated on Wednesday, with the advances in the mining sector offsetting the declines of shares in the retail sector. Futures in the US equity were mostly unchanged as market players continue to wait for updates on the Fed meeting.

In the global market, share prices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul gained for the day, while stocks in Tokyo slipped following the latest statement from a White House official. An adviser for the White House, Peter Navaro, previously stated that he doesn’t know whether the US President Donald Trump has other plans other than having a great deal with China or putting back the tariffs on Chinese imports.

Among the major currencies in the world, the US dollar mostly strengthened for the day. On the other hand, the British pound declined following the less than optimistic polls on the upcoming UK elections. The recent closely watched poll was released, showing more than half of the lead of the Conservative party led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson was slashed two days before the election.

According to a portfolio manager at the Allianz Global, Burns McKinney, the market has become somewhat numb on anything about trade. The upcoming general election in the UK, the FOMC meeting, as well as the tariff increase scheduled for December 15, hasn’t poised any major bad news in the market so far.

Elsewhere in the market, the stock market debut of the giant Saudi Aramco shares soared for the day, jumping at the daily limit of 10% in the Riyadh Stock Exchange. On the other hand, the crude-oil futures mostly slipped during the trading session in New York.

On the currencies front, the British pound declined by 0.3% towards $1.3117, while the euro recorded a 0.1% dip towards $1.1083. The onshore yuan also dropped for the day by around 0.1% towards its current valuation at 7.039 against the US dollar, while the Japanese yen was mostly trading flat for the day at 108.74 against the US dollar.