It was a straightforward reaction to the FOMC meeting yesterday, as the Fed bolstered expectations of a June rate cut. The dot plots still showed 75 bps of rate cuts this year and Powell rounded that off with a more dovish stance overall. As a result, the dollar fell as risk trades soared while gold surged to a fresh record high. In fact, the precious metal is now testing waters above $2,200 after a run to $2,222 in Asia earlier.
So far today, markets are following through on the post-Fed reaction with the dollar also in a softer mood. USD/JPY trimmed its run higher from yesterday, now down another 0.5% to 150.50. Meanwhile, EUR/USD is trading back above 1.0900 to 1.0930 levels while GBP/USD is up over 100 pips from the lows yesterday to near 1.2800 currently.
In the equities space, S&P 500 futures are up another 0.4% following yesterday's record close. Tech shares remain buoyant with Nasdaq futures up 0.6% as a shove lower in Treasury yields is helping.
Looking to European trading today, the central bank bonanza is going to continue with the SNB and BOE coming up. I shared some thoughts on those earlier this week here, with the SNB having the potential to surprise while the BOE should be more of a placeholder. If there are no surprises, markets would have little reason to get jumpy in the session ahead.
As such, the main focus will continue to be on the post-Fed reaction. However, we will also be getting a dash of PMI data from Europe. That will be one to perhaps keep euro traders interested, although the odds of a ECB rate cut in June are already at ~86% currently.
0745 GMT - France March business confidence
0815 GMT - France March flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
0830 GMT - Germany March flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
0830 GMT - SNB announces its Q1 monetary policy decision
0900 GMT - Eurozone March flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
0900 GMT - Eurozone January current account balance
0930 GMT - UK March flash manufacturing, services, composite PMI
1200 GMT - BOE announces its March monetary policy decision
That's all for the session ahead. I wish you all the best of days to come and good luck with your trading this week! Stay safe out there.
