The release of the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Fed’s FOMC showed members were reluctant to begin rate cuts as they wanted to see more progress on getting inflation down to 2% first
- Yesterday’s release of FOMC meeting minutes showed that members remain very reluctant to cut rates, with the consensus that a pause needs to continue until there is more evidence of inflation coming down to the Fed’s 2% target. Despite this arguably slightly hawkish tilt, stocks rose, and the greenback fell, following the release.
- Global stock markets are mostly higher, with the Japanese Nikkei 225 Index reaching a new record high price. Trend traders will still look to be involved on the long side of major US equity indices, despite last week’s losses, and day traders may consider trading these indices long if they show bullish momentum after the market opens.
- In the Forex market, the New Zealand Dollar has been the strongest major currency since the Tokyo open today. The Japanese Yen remains the weakest. The highest volatility recently has been seen in the USD/JPY currency pair, and in Yen crosses, although this is starting to decline.
- Bitcoin continues to make a bullish consolidation below its new 20-month high above $52,884. Trend traders and investors will remain interested in Bitcoin on the long side.
- Cocoa futures rose strongly to make another new record high. Trend traders will be watching closely and will be interested in going long. Cocoa futures have risen by more than 25% since the start of 2024 alone.
- There will be releases today of Flash Services & Manufacturing PMI data in the USA, the UK, Germany, and France.
