Wednesday, June 16 is a day of meetings and political developments mostly.
The most important event that virtually all news outlets will follow is the summit between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva. The two will meet for the first time in person since Biden took office. The summit is expected to last a few hours, though many doubt that is enough time to cover all issues that the two sides need to address.
Both presidents have acknowledged that relations between Russia and the United States are currently at their lowest point in years. The US has expressed concerns over Russian cyberattacks against US companies recently, not to mention Russia’s possible involvement in the 2016 elections. There are also concerns about the way Putin is handling opposition forces in Russia, for instance, the attack against Navalny. Russian military campaigns are another hot topic for the United States, especially where Ukraine is concerned.
Because the issues the two countries have with one another are so many and so complex in nature, this summit is more likely to serve as a beginning to a long conversation rather than an end in itself.
Another crucial meeting today is the Federal Reserve’s gathering to debate monetary policy again. No major adjustments are expected at this time, but a revision to the Fed’s economic expectations in the US is going to be followed keenly by investors.
In anticipation of the results from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, US stock indices today will trade mostly flat, with a slightly mixed bias because the market has not committed to a trend yet.
In terms of fundamental publications, today there are several highlights.
First off, the United Kingdom published its inflation rate reports for May, which were all better than the forecast, justifying investors’ hopes that the United Kingdom will recover from the pandemic fairly quickly.
China, on the other hand, disappointed with its industrial production and retail sales readings, which signalled lower growth than expected.
Later today we expect inflation reports from Canada, as well as building permits and housing starts statistics from the United States.
Meanwhile, crude oil continues its climb as it became clear that reserves in the United States are lower than expected, and the global demand for crude is growing amid steady recovery processes around the world. The Brent crude climbed to $74.11, while the WTI reached $72.23.
