The most important event to affect the markets today is the policy meeting of the Federal Reserve in the United States. The central bank will be deciding on whether to adjust its monetary policy in order to boost the economy and prevent any negative fallout from the ongoing trade conflict with China.
Up until the beginning of this week, investors were certain that we would see a 25 basis point interest rate reduction. However, recent economic data from the United States has been good, so it is possible that the Fed decides to wait and see, perhaps postpone any rate adjustment for their next meeting.
The American stock markets are also waiting for the Federal Reserve’s decision. Nevertheless, we do expect to see lower opens and losses today.
Meanwhile, the oil market has also calmed down, thanks to Saudi Arabia’s reassurance that their biggest oil facilities, which were attacked by Iranian missiles over the weekend, will be back at full capacity within two weeks, much sooner than investors expected. This means there won’t be a big glut in oil supply. As a result, oil prices retreated from the recent highs they reached after news of the attack became public.
