World stock indexes rose and the dollar edged up against a basket of currencies yesterday as investors awaited the outcomes of Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan policy meetings that will conclude on Wednesday.
Investor expectations are low that the Fed will raise US short-term interest rates, but investors will listen closely to chair Janet Yellen’s speech on Wednesday for any hint that the US central bank could hike rates as soon as December.
Traders doubt the BOJ will be able to meaningfully weaken the yen when it meets, but trading has been choppy in recent days as investors try to guess the outcomes of the central bank meetings.
“Investors are holding vigil before the Bank of Japan and the Federal Reserve’s announcements tomorrow, and I think everything stays quiet until then,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.
Nagging doubts about the firepower left available to top central banks have added to recent volatility in markets.
The yen rose 0.25 per cent against the dollar to trade at 101.70 yen. The Japanese currency has risen almost 20 per cent versus the dollar over the past 12 months despite the Japanese central bank’s best efforts to weaken it. The dollar index rose 0.1 per cent to 95.951.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 76.97 points, or 0.42 per cent, to 18,197.14, the S&P 500 had gained 7.83 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 2,146.95 and the Nasdaq Composite had added 19.70 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 5,254.73.
In a testimony to the US Senate Banking Committee, Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf apologised to customers for more than two million fake accounts opened in their names. Wells Fargo shares were up one per cent in choppy trading.
MSCI’s all-country world stock index was up 0.3 per cent, while European shares were up 0.2 per cent.
The pre-BOJ and Fed caution kept European bond market moves small, while US Treasury yields slipped further as data on US housing construction fell short of expectations in August.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was 1.687 per cent, down one basis point from late on Monday.
Oil prices edged higher, reversing earlier losses. On Monday, Venezuela’s Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino said global oil supply of 94 million barrels per day needs to fall by about a tenth if it is to match consumption. Brent crude oil futures were up 0.5 per cent at $46.19 per barrel, while US crude futures were up 1.4 per cent at $43.89.