Sentiment in Asia was mostly negative with the majority of equity inidces headed lower this morning, the Nikkei was the exception. The US handover was very much the same, some mixed results but in all no major changes.
The limelight went to the summit between the US and North Korea that signed an agreement for a peace regime in the Korean Peninsula – which is intrinsically a very big step forward even though many have criticized the lack of detail that this agreement holds and how widely interpreted it may be.
Today the Fed concludes its 2-day policy meeting and is expected to hold a press conference following the FOMC decision. The USD is seen garnering support ahead of the conference, and is in fact marking its 4th conseciutive day in positive at the time of writing.
The US Dollar index (DXY) an index measuring the strength of the USD against a basket of other currencies, is currently at 93.89 – on the rise from last weekly lows of 93.21 seen last Thursday.
The focus from today’s communication from the FED will undoubtedly fall on how many more rate hikes are expected this year. Earlier in 2018 three rate rises were indicated however speculation is waiting to see if that could actually go up to four.
The ECB as well enters its policy meeting, but is expected to communicate their decisions on Thursday.
