The majority of U.S. stock markets closed the session in the red yesterday in anticipation of the FOMC’s announcement. The current bond buyback program has certainly helped shares perform extremely well this year, and markets will be on the lookout for clues in Ben Bernanke’s statement indicating when the Fed intends to begin the tapering. The U.S. dollar traded within a narrow range of approximately 40 points against the loonie yesterday.
Natural gas prices also dropped to their lowest level in 21 weeks, in reaction to the weather outlook for the upcoming winter season, which is expected to be warmer than usual in the Eastern United States. The S&P 500 closed yesterday’s session down by 0.4%, notably due to the release of Pending Home Sales figures for June. Although higher than expected, the increase in sales slowed compared to the previous month.
A few North American economic indicators are expected this morning. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which monitors the prices of homes and CB Consumer Confidence, will be released in the U.S.
Range of the day: 1.0245 -1.0320