Gold Silver Reports – Traders Await Fed, ECB – U.S. stocks fluctuated, the dollar rose and Treasuries slipped as investors wait for the year’s final central bank policy moves. The Federal Reserve is expected to raise rates at its meeting on Wednesday and the European Central Bank is expected to reveal details of plans to taper asset purchases on Thursday.
Comments from officials on the outlook for 2018 will be in focus, as investors weigh the impact of coming policy normalization on global asset markets. In the European session, stocks rose to a five-week high amid a $5 billion deal in the tech sector.
The euro weakened and most European bonds declined as German investor confidence slid in December for the first time in four months. In commodities, Brent crude jumped above $65 a barrel for the first time since June 2015 before handing back gains after an important pipeline was shut because of a crack.
sentiment, South Korean unemployment or Japanese machine orders are likely to bounce off a market that is marking time before the FOMC. Even trips to Beijing by the leaders of South Korea and Hong Kong may do little to move the needle. RBA Governor Philip Lowe and RBA Assistant Governor for Financial Markets Chris Kent are delivering speeches in Sydney, so there may be some interest in those.
The European day may face a similar fate even as reports loom on industrial output for Italy and the EU, and U.K. joblessness. The U.S. session brings inflation data that will still have plenty of impact, and then finally the Fed. – Neal Bhai Reports
