Shares in Europe held Tuesday’s gains and the dollar fell as traders await the Federal Reserve’s first policy decision since Jerome Powell took the helm. Treasuries rose and oil touched a six-week high.
Media and energy shares were the biggest winners in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, following a mixed performance in Asian equities. The dollar fell against most major currencies, with an index tracking its value against trading partners dropping the most in more than a week. Oil advanced on tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. European bonds were stable and the pound advanced ahead of a Bank of England meeting. Treasuries climbed with gold.
Investor focus will today turn to Jerome Powell’s first Federal Open Market Committee meeting as chairman, with close scrutiny of whether monetary policy might become more hawkish under his tenure. Shares in technology-related firms remain on the back foot due to the spillover from the crisis engulfing Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg will address employees of the social network on Friday.
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index dipped 0.3 percent, the largest decrease in more than two weeks.
The euro jumped 0.3 percent to $1.2279.
The Japanese yen climbed 0.2 percent to 106.31 per dollar.
South Africa’s rand gained 0.1 percent to 11.9528 per dollar.
The British pound advanced 0.2 percent to $1.4024, the strongest in more than a month. - Bloomberg -