Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Wednesday, June 28:
1. Central bankers continue to center markets’ attention
After a slew of monetary policymakers spoke in the previous session, including Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Janet Yellen who proclaimed she did not expect another financial crisis in “our lifetimes”, the downpour will continue on Wednesday as central bankers remain at the European Central Bank’s (ECB) forum in Sintra, Portugal.
The highlight will arrive with the policy panel scheduled for 9:30AM ET (15:30GMT) Wednesday with the participation of Bank of England (BoE) governor Mark Carney, ECB president Mario Draghi, Bank of Japan (BoJ) governor Haruhiko Kuroda and Bank of Canada (BoC) chief Stephen Poloz, and moderated by Bank of Israel governor Karnit Flug.
On economic calendar stateside, investors will focus on trade data and pending home sales, both for the month of May.
2. Dollar hits 8-month lows on political jitters over healthcare delay
The dollar remained under pressure Wednesday, hitting eight-month lows after Senate Republican leaders postponed a vote on a sweeping healthcare reform until after Congress’July 4 recess, in order to get more time to gather support for the bill.
The delay rekindled concerns over the Trump administration’s ability to push through tax cuts and fiscal stimulus plans, without first getting the healthcare bill passed.
At 5:56AM ET (9:56GMT), the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was down 0.18% at 96.01.
The decline in the dollar also boosted gold prices on Wednesday as the commodity priced in the greenback becomes cheaper for investors using other currencies.
Gold futures for August delivery on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $6.32, or around 0.5%, to trade at $1,253.31 by 5:57AM ET (9:57GMT),
3. Euro continues rally to 1-year highs
Dollar weakness contributed to the continuation of the rally in the euro as EUR/USD hit highs of 1.1388 Wednesday, the most since June 24, 2016.
It was last 1.1361 by 5:57AM ET (9:57GMT), up 0.2% for the day.
The pair rallied 1.39% on Tuesday, its biggest one-day percentage gain since last June after upbeat comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi fueled speculation that the central bank could soon unwind its quantitative easing program.
4. Oil struggles ahead of U.S. inventory data
Oil prices were fighting to recover in early morning North American trade on Wednesday, paring losses as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products later in the global day.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. oil inventories rose by 851,000 barrels in the week ended June 23, surprising expectations for a drawdown of 2.6 million.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its official weekly oil supplies report at 10:30AM ET (1430GMT), amid forecasts for a decrease of 2.585 million barrels.
U.S. crude oil futures fell 0.29% to $44.11 at 6:01AM ET (10:01GMT), while Brent oil slipped 0.02% to $46.91.
Investors will also be on watch Thursday for details from U.S. President Donald Trump’s energy speech.
5. Global stocks follow Wall Street lower as risk sentiment remains in doldrums
Global stocks followed Wall Street’s prior close lower as the U.S. healthcare delay and tech selloff continued to dampen sentiment.
Asian shares slumped on Wednesday after Wall Street was knocked hard in the wake of a delay to a U.S. healthcare reform vote. Japan’s Nikkei closed off 0.49%, while China’s Shanghai Composite ended with losses of 0.56%.
European equities also suffered from negative sentiment in stocks. At 6:02AM ET (10:02GMT), the European benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.58%, the DAX shed 0.59%, the CAC 40 traded down 0.42% while London's FTSE 100 slipped 0.07%.
U.S. futures suggested that the Dow and S&P could undergo a slight bounce, but pointed to a continued decline in the Nasdaq. At 6:03AM ET (10:03GMT), the blue-chip Dow futures inched up 0.07%, S&P 500 futures edged forward 0.07% while the Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.20%.