Market News

The US Dollar Index edged higher in Wednesday trading but remained near to the recently struck 6-week trough.

HSBC Holdings Plc reported Wednesday that its pretax profit had fallen 45 percent to $3.61 billion from a year earlier.

Disappointing GDP data continues to put broad pressure on the US Dollar which was down against the Japanese Yen and the common currency Euro in Tuesday trading.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) announced a cut in interest rates Tuesday by 25 basis points to a record-low of 1.50% from 1.75%.

The Pound Sterling retreated from the highs it hit last week versus the US Dollar after the latest economic data brought to light more worrying signs for the UK economy.

After hitting a two-week low against the yen on Friday, the Australian dollar came back Monday after negative US economic data late last week pushed back expectations of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

There is a news schedule this week similar to last week, which includes input from central banks concerning the GBP and AUD, as well as key U.S. Non-Farm Payrolls data. Get the economic calendar for the week of August 1, 2016 here.

It looks like the Federal Reserve is not likely to raise interest rates anytime soon. At the FOMC meeting last week, the central bank indicated pointedly that a September hike was not in the cards.

In a surprise decision, the BOJ pledged to keep interest rates steady at the close of its two-day meeting on Friday.

The Euro edged up against the Pound Sterling earlier today as markets focus on the upcoming policy meeting of the Bank of England.

Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Wednesday, stating that the economy had weathered this past year’s troubles and had emerged with increased employment and moderate economic growth.

The Pound Sterling remained under pressure against both the Euro and the US Dollar despite an unexpected improvement in GDP data which was released by the UK’s Office of National Statistics a short while ago.

U.S. stocks changed only slightly Tuesday in anticipation of the Federal Reserve meeting Wednesday.

The Pound Sterling earlier struck a 2-week trough after one policymaker at the Bank of England suggested that the latest batch of disappointing data from the UK convinced him of the need for more monetary policy easing.

Japanese stocks sold off in a mixed Asian session on Tuesday, dragged down by renewed strength in the yen after a local media report indicated the government's highly anticipated stimulus package may not live up to expectations.