FOMC minutes in focus
|European stock indices were firmer first thing following on from solid gains on Wall Street last night. The Dow, NASDAQ and S&P500 all closed out at fresh record highs as positive market sentiment kept the upside momentum going. Investors appeared to be making up for lost time following Monday’s US holiday and rushed in on the buy-side following some upbeat earnings reports. Underpinning the current rally is the expectation that Donald Trump will deliver on his promises to cut taxes, boost infrastructure spending and roll back regulations. There is a strong belief that this administration is set to be the most business-friendly in a generation. While there’s plenty of scope for disappointment, particularly as Trump’s deadline for a big tax announcement is realistically just a week away now, investors are terrified of missing out on the current stock market move. For now the momentum is with the buy-side and short-sellers continue to get trampled by the bulls.
The minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve FOMC meeting are released this evening. Investors will be looking out for any clues over the likely timing of future rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve. Last week Fed Chair Janet Yellen delivered testimony to policymakers in Washington. This was interpreted as being more hawkish than anticipated as Dr Yellen went out of her way to suggest that next month’s meeting was “live” when it came to the prospect of a rate hike.
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