All three major US stock indices close at record highs
US stock indices ended at record highs on Tuesday as Federal Reserve two-day meeting, expected to produce a decision on starting date and pace of its balance sheet reduction, commenced. The dollar weakened: the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, slipped 0.2% to 91.82. The S&P 500 added 0.1% settling at record high 2506.65, led by telecom stocks. Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.2% closing at fresh record high 22370.80. The Nasdaq composite index gained 0.1% to record high 6461.32.
European stocks extend gains
European stocks closed higher on Tuesday in cautious trade. Both the euro and British Pound ended higher against the dollar. The Stoxx Europe 600 inched 0.04% higher. Germany’s DAX 30 gained 0.02% closing at 12561.79. France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.2% and UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3% to 7275.25. National indices opened lower today except for France's CAC 40 which opened 0.1% higher.
Asian markets higher
Asian stock indices are mostly higher today while investor refrained from big bets ahead of Fed’s policy decision. Nikkei rose 0.1% to 20310.46 despite resumed yen strength against the dollar. Chinese stocks are higher: both the Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index are 0.2% up. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index is down 0.1% as Australian dollar resumed strengthening against the greenback.
Oil climbs ahead of US inventory report
Oil futures prices are rising today after Iraq’s oil minister said OPEC and other crude producers were considering extending or even deepening a supply cut. The American Petroleum Institute industry group reported late Tuesday US crude stocks rose by 1.4 million barrels last week to 470.3 million, instead of expected 3.5 million barrels increase. Prices slipped yesterday: November Brent crude fell 0.6% to $55.14 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange on Tuesday. Today at 16:30 CET the Energy Information Administration will release US Crude Oil Inventories.