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I'm Amy Anderson for OptionRally TV. The rest of this week will be about central
banks with the FOMC minutes due later today and tomorrows Bank of England and European
Central Bank meetings. . Now for a quick look at today January 8th 2014
Wall Street investors move into risk on mode JPMorgan slammed over Bernie Madoff fraud
And Oil traders wait for today's inventory data
Let's take a quick look at what is happening in the global markets this week.
Traders around the globe prepare for a hectic event week, with the release of the US Federal
Reserve minutes later today, followed tomorrow by the Bank of England and European Central
Bank meetings and culminating on Friday with the release of the US nonfarm payroll report.
Investors shifted their mood from cautious to risk on, driving up Wall Street and European
stocks on Tuesday. Stocks posted their first positive close of the New Year, with the NASDAQ
adding nearly one per cent, helped by a solid November trade report showing the US deficit
at its narrowest point in four years. London's FTSE ended Tuesday up 0.37 per cent
to 67-55.45 points, while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.83 per cent to 42-62.68 points. Frankfurt's
DAX 30 index also rose 0.83 per cent to 95-06.20 points, with sentiments helped by upbeat German
unemployment data. Investment bank JPMorgan lost 1.2 per cent
after the Justice Department and banking regulators ordered them to pay 2.24 billion dollars to
victims of the 2008 Madoff Ponzi scheme and another 350 million dollar penalty to the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency for its role as the main banker for jailed
financier Bernard Madoff. The findings showed that bank employees were either too complacent
or greedy to bother to look into the Madoff scam.
In the forex markets the euro eased to $1.36-18 while the US dollar rose to 104.56 yen. Traders
will sit tight today waiting for the FOMC minutes which will be released at 2pm US time.
The US dollar could gain some momentum if the minutes indicate strong support among
the members to increase tapering. Moving to commodities, Gold ended up easing
on Tuesday after an active trading day. The shiny metal closed at $12-27.50 ahead of the
FOMC minutes due later today. Oil got a bump up late yesterday after the
IMF raised its growth outlook for 2014. Oil prices edged higher this morning as dealers
sat on the sidelines ahead of an upcoming US stockpiles report, while a record-breaking
North American cold snap provided strong support. WTI crude oil was up 22 cents at $93.89 while
Brent North Sea crude rose seven cents at $107.42
I'm Amy Anderson for OptionRally follow me right here on my channel, at Optionrally.com
and on my Facebook page.