The FTSE has remained stagnant in early trading this Thursday morning as investors await the outcome of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision.
“The markets are “pricing-in” a 91.2% probability of a rate hike today” suggested FxPro analyst, Edward Anderson. “If the BoE does not raise rates the markets will put downward pressure on GBP. If rates rise, as expected, there may only be slight upward pressure on GBP as the markets have already factored in a hike.”
The outcome will have a bearing on the FTSE too. Spreadex analyst, Connor Campbell suggested “It’ll be interesting to see how the FTSE reacts to all this. The UK index has a history of sinking as sterling rises, though has managed to not stray too far from 7500 for the past month or so>”
The biggest FTSE mover this morning has been Randgold Resources which has posted a drop in 3rd quarter profit and production, which has seen its share price drop over 5%. However, the Group has also suggested that it is on track to meet its 2017 expectations.
Over in the US, yesterday’s FOMC meeting and unchanged interest rate decision provided nothing new in terms of guidance for the Dollar. ADS Securities analyst, Konstantinos Anthis suggested “This was the expected scenario and the dollar barely reacted, but today’s agenda will be far more important as traders are expecting the introduction of President Trump’s tax bill that was delayed from yesterday. There may also be news about his nomination for the next Fed Chairman.”
FxPro’s Edward Anderson added “The markets will be looking ahead to Friday’s always impactful Non-Farm Payroll release for further confirmation of a robust labor market which will, inevitably, underscore the likelihood of a December rate hike.”
US equity markets finished mixed on the first trading day of November. “Both the Dow Jones and S&P 500 recovered some lost ground on the Tech-focused Nasdaq after its recent results-inspired outperformance.” commented Accendo Markets analyst, Mike van Dulken. “The Dow outperformed after a broad-based rally led by Goldman Sachs, Disney and Intel helped to offset Apple weakness, while the Energy sector helped the S&P higher.”