In a decidedly forgettable session, the markets moped about ahead of the month’s Federal Reserve rate vote, statement and press conference this evening.
One of the more notable elements of Wednesday’s trading was the continued retreat by the dollar. It is feeling so low in fact that the greenback is at its worst level for more than 2 years against a basket of major currencies
Against the pound and euro specifically the dollar fell 0.3% apiece. This allowed the Dow Jones to push 60 points higher, leaving the US index at 26450.
No new policy announcements are expected from Jerome Powell and co. – it is widely believed that the central bank is still trying to figure out its next step (Thursday’s Q2 GDP reading could help with that). However, the September meeting is looking like the next point of action, so any signal as to what that action might be will be much-welcomed by investors, even if it is just a reiteration of the promise to do whatever it takes.
Elsewhere the FTSE and DAX were both down 0.1%, but with the CAC bucking the day’s dull trading with a comparatively perky 0.7% increase. That Gucci-owner Kering (PA:PRTP) was up 5% helped the French index best its European peers.
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