All Eyes On ECB

Market sentiment remains mixed amidst the updates to corporate earnings as well as the anticipation ahead of the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision. The ECB is widely expected to cut rates by another 25 basis points.

Monthly retail sales data for September as well as the weekly initial jobless claims data due from the U.S. are also on the market’s radar for potential cues on monetary policy.

Meanwhile, the CME Group’s FedWatch Tool that tracks the expectations of interest rate traders currently shows the likelihood of a quarter-point cut in the next Fed review in November at 92.1 percent versus 93.7 percent a day earlier.

Wall Street Futures have recorded mild gains. European benchmarks are trading higher. Asian benchmarks closed on a mostly negative note.

The Dollar Index edged down. Bond yields mostly hardened. Crude oil prices edged up. Gold prices touched a record high again. Cryptocurrencies are trading mixed.

Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 43,157.30 up 0.18%
S&P 500 (US500) at 5,866.50, up 0.41%
Germany’s DAX at 19,581.65, up 0.67%
U.K.’s FTSE 100 at 8,364.32, up 0.42%
France’s CAC 40 at 7,581.92, up 1.20%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,949.85, up 0.84%
Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 38,945.50, down 0.65%
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 at 8,355.90, up 0.86%
China’s Shanghai Composite at 3,169.38, down 1.05%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 20,079.10, down 1.02%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.0867, up 0.05%
GBP/USD at 1.3010, up 0.15%
USD/JPY at 149.59, down 0.02%
AUD/USD at 0.6697, up 0.47%
USD/CAD at 1.3777, up 0.20%
Dollar Index at 103.48, down 0.10%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 4.030%, up 0.35%
Germany at 2.1975%, up 0.99%
France at 2.939%, up 0.96%
U.K. at 4.1090%, up 1.06%
Japan at 0.960%, down 0.52%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Dec) at $74.27, up 0.07%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Nov) at $70.43, up 0.06%.
Gold Futures (Dec) at $2,702.85, up 0.43%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $67,218.98, down 0.58%
Ethereum at $2,613.03, up 0.11%
BNB at $593.44, down 0.26%
Solana at $152.32, down 1.95%
XRP at $0.5575, up 2.77%.