Investors were not much impressed with Theresa May’s crucial Italian speech, designed to re-boot Brexit negotiations
On the surface markets were little changed following the Fed’s policy announcement – balance sheet tapering, finally, plus multiple interest rate climbs inked into the diary.
In a widely anticipated shift US Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen yesterday confirmed the removal of economic stimulus it has poured into the American economy
Will the US Fed announce The Big Unwind this evening? Stock market trading was marked by small skirmishes today at best as investors await the judgement of Janet Yellen
At close to 4pm the Dow Jones was well past the 22,300 threshold at 22,335, up +0.30% while the S&P500 slid over the 2,500 barrier to 2,506.
Despite North Korea dispatching another ballistic missile over Japan and threatening to send it “into the sea” markets kept their cool.
A tighter jobs market, soaring inflation (at 2.9% well above target) and rising personal debt
The main commodity news was oil, up more than +2% after more evidence from the International Energy Agency that global crude production was stuttering
Despite the hype of augmented reality and facial recognition Apple’s new £999 X iPhone (basic version) failed to lift Apple’s share price yesterday.
Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google make up more than 25% of America’s benchmark S&P 500 index gains this year.
Asian stocks continued to rise during Tuesday as investors piled back into risk
Despite increased demand for the US dollar earlier the pound hit $1.32 earlier today.
Helped by a weaker yen and a lack of fresh North Korean threats to worry about the Japanese Nikkei 225 bounced back on Monday
The Japanese yen moved to a 10-month high overnight as risk appetite lowered and safe-haven appetite increased
European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi delivered a bland and most featureless offering to investors with monetary policy unchanged earlier.
