CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Market spotlight has turned on the FOMC decision from the U.S. to be announced on Wednesday afternoon. Concerns about the independence of the Fed lingered.
The CME FedWatch tool that tracks the expectations of interest rate traders currently shows the likelihood of a quarter percentage rate cut by the Federal Reserve at 2.8 percent versus 4.4 percent a day ago.
Wall Street Futures are trading in mildly positive territory ahead of key earnings updates and the Fed's policy announcements. Benchmarks in Europe are trading on a negative note. Asian markets finished trading on a positive note.
The dollar index has rebounded from the four-year low touched on Tuesday. Bond yields are trading on a mixed note.
Crude oil prices extended gains amidst winter disruptions and dollar weakness. Gold scaled a fresh peak again as uncertainty over U.S. policy spurred buying. Cryptocurrencies have recorded strong gains.
Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.
Stock Indexes:
DJIA (US30) at 49,006.90, up 0.01% S&P 500 (US500) at 6,993.80, up 0.22% Germany's DAX at 24,754.93, down 0.62% U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 10,152.40, down 0.54% France's CAC 40 at 8,033.64, down 1.46% Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,966.45, down 0.47% Japan's Nikkei 225 at 53,358.71, up 0.05% Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 8,933.90, down 0.09% China's Shanghai Composite at 4,151.24, up 0.27% Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 27,826.91, up 2.58%
Currencies:
EUR/USD at 1.1970, down 0.59% GBP/USD at 1.3783, down 0.47% USD/JPY at 152.65, up 0.26% AUD/USD at 0.6997, down 0.20% USD/CAD at 1.3565, down 0.13% Dollar Index at 96.21, up 0.48%
Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:
U.S. at 4.240%, up 0.40% Germany at 2.848%, down 0.80% France at 3.416%, down 0.58% U.K. at 4.5310%, up 0.09% Japan at 2.235%, down 2.40%
Commodities:
Brent Oil Futures (Apr) at $67.02, up 0.65%. Crude Oil WTI Futures (Mar) at $62.89, up 0.80%. Gold Futures (Apr) at $5,307.11, up 3.64%.
Cryptocurrencies:
Bitcoin at $89,791.62, up 2.17% Ethereum at $3,026.73, up 3.83% BNB at $903.65, up 2.73% XRP at $1.92, up 2.26% Solana at $127.11, up 2.68%
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