This Tuesday, December 14, 2021, all eyes are on the Fed. Meanwhile, European stocks are expected to open slightly higher. The Eurostoxx 50 at 4,183.04 points (-0.38%), the CAC 40 at 6,991.68 points (-0.24%), the DAX 40 at 15,621.72 points (-0.01%), the FTSE 100 at 6,942.91 points (-0.70%), the SMI at 12,551.28 points (-0.45%), the AEX at 783.00 points (-0.64%), the BEL 20 at 4,145.37 points (-0.36%), the IBEX 35 at 8,322.70 points (-0.45%), the DJIA at 35,650.95 points (-0.89%), the Nasdaq at 15,413.28 points (-1.39%), the S&P 500 at 4,668.97 points (-0.91%) and the Nikkei 225 at 28,432.64 points (-0.73%).
On the exchange rate side, the change from the close in New York indicates that EUR/USD opens at 1.1281 (-0.04%), EUR/JPY at 128.11 (- 0.05%), USD/JPY at 113.57 (-0.01%).
Investors are waiting for the latest economic report from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) on Tuesday, which will be published at 6:00 p.m. In this note, INSEE will present its detailed forecasts for the French economy until mid-2022. In its previous note, INSEE expected growth of 6.25% this year.
European equity markets are set to open slightly higher on Tuesday as investors prepare for the Federal Reserve (Fed) monetary policy meeting, which begins today, while monitoring the Omicron variant of the virus responsible for Covid-19. 19. At 7:30 a.m., the CAC 40 futures contract was up 4.4 points, or 0.06%, according to data from broker IG Markets. The contract on the DAX 40 gained 14.4 points, or 0.1%, and that on the FTSE 100 gained 18.3 points, or 0.25%. The Fed will announce its monetary policy decision and economic forecast on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. (Paris time). Wall Street also expects this Tuesday the producer price index in the United States for the month of November, which will provide new indications on the evolution of inflation. These numbers will be especially important given the Fed meeting. In Asia, equity markets are losing ground. The Hang Seng, the flagship index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, yielded 1.5% at the end of the session, due to persistent concerns about real estate developers. The Shanghai Composite index fell 0.6%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index closed down 0.7%. Wall Street ended lower on Monday, cautious after its new highs and as investors await a series of monetary policy decisions in the United States, Europe and Japan this week. The Dow Jones Index (DJIA) ended down 0.9%, at 35,650.95 points, and the broader S&P 500 index lost 0.9%, at 4,668.97 points. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.4% to 15,413.28 points.
All eyes on the bond market are on the Fed, whose monetary policy committee meets Tuesday and Wednesday. At the end of this meeting, the American central bank should announce an acceleration of the rate of withdrawal ("tapering") of its bond purchase program.
The euro lost some ground against the dollar on Tuesday morning. The dollar could appreciate further if the Fed is more restrictive than expected and thus deters some investors from taking risks, said Karl Schamotta of Cambridge Global Payments.
Oil futures are little changed on Tuesday morning as traders remain focused on the potential impact of the Omicron variant on the market. At 7:20 a.m., the February North Sea Brent contract was up 6 cents, at $74.45 a barrel. The January contract on Nymex-listed light sweet crude (WTI) was up 4 cents to $71.32 a barrel.