The Federal Reserve will conclude its two-day policy meeting today. No changes to the interest rate are expected at the moment. However, the Fed could announce another form of policy softening since the economic situation in the United States has worsened compared to when the Fed met last. Especially with the government struggling to agree on a stimulus plan, the Federal Reserve could try to help with asset purchases.
Also in the US today the leaders of the four biggest tech companies (Facebook, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon) will be testifying before Congress as there have been allegations they might be monopolizing their respective markets. Together, these four are worth nearly one fourth of the S&P 500, which includes the stocks of 505 different companies.
If Congress decides to take any action against these four tech giants, there will be direct consequences on their stock value.
Otherwise, the stock markets are doing well today, particularly because AMD’s earnings yesterday set an optimistic tone. Today we expect to hear reports from PayPal, Boeing, and General Motors, among others.
Despite signs that oil production in the United States is once again expanding, oil prices today are on the rise. The Brent crude climbed to $44.11, while the WTI reached $41.45.
Last but not least, today the total number of coronavirus infections sits at 16.9 million and will likely reach 17 million before the day’s end. The United States has just under 4.5 million cases, Brazil has 2.4 million, and India - 1.5 million.
The number of new daily infections in the United States was once again around 65,000 yesterday, after briefly falling under 60k a few days ago. It seems that the American outbreak is far from over still.
