Asian markets opened the week lower as concern over global slow down. While Japan is on holiday today, other Asian indices are generally lower. Crude oil stays soft below 45 after Friday's dip and gold is trading in tight range below 1140. Dollar index is trading above 95 with an eye on 95.84 minor resistance. In the currency markets, commodity currencies are revering some of last week's gain. Meanwhile, yen is lifted mildly by risk aversion, followed by Euro. Dollar is mixed. Released so far today, New Zealand Westpac consumer confidence dropped to 106 in Q3. UK Rightmove house price rose 0.9% mom in September. Looking ahead, Germany will release PPI. Canada will release wholesale sales and US will release existing home sales.
In Greece, Alexis Tsipras and his Syriza party are set to return to power after the election over the weekend. Syriza would likely win more than 145 seats in the 300 member parliament, followed by the conservative New Democracy. Tsipras noted that he would form a coalition government with former partner, Independent Greeks of Panos Kammenos. With the elections now cleared, the new government will now work on concluding the first review of the international bailout, which will have an impact on economic and political stability.
In US, FOMC's decision to kept rate unchanged last week disappointed some dollar bulls. But the greenback was supported by comments from Fed officials over the weekend. St Louis Fed president James Bullard said that he "would have dissented" to stand pat as "the case for policy normalization is quite strong since the committee's objectives have essentially been met." Meanwhile, the decision was made in a "pressure packed" meeting with a "close call".
San Francisco Fed president John Williams said that "given the progress we've made and continue to make on our goals, I view the next appropriate step as gradually raising interest rates, most likely starting sometime later this year." He also said that last week's decision was a "close call" in his mind, "in part reflecting the conflicting signals we're getting." He also noted that "we're balancing a number of considerations, some of which argue for greater patience in raising rates and others that argue for acting sooner rather than later."