Still, investors will be anxious to hear how policymakers view the state of the US economy and the hints about what the central bank might with rate hikes at future meetings. Expectations that the US central bank would press ahead with interest rate increases over the summer faded earlier this month after the release of weak USA payrolls data for May.
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The New Zealand dollar jumped after the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and signalled the pace of future increases will be slower than previously expected.
GBP/USD is supported in the range of 1.4009 levels and now trading at 1.4215 levels. Gold hit a two-year high yesterday before erasing gains after the murder of a British lawmaker led to a suspension in Brexit campaigns. As it stands, polls are showing that more citizens are on the “leave” side than the “stay” side, which is furthering fears of uncertainty in the global markets. Meanwhile, British annual retail sales growth unexpectedly picked up speed in May.
Four of the 10 major S&P sectors lost ground, with financials falling 1.45 per cent. Wells Fargo declined 2.27 per cent and JPMorgan Chase lost 1.88 per cent.
USD/CAD is supported at 1.2900 levels and is trading at 1.2957 levels.
LONDON, June 16 European stocks fell on Thursday, with key regional equity indexes dropping towards their lowest level in almost four months as concerns lingered over Britain’s vote next week on its European Union membership. Spot silver was up 1.3% at $17.387 an ounce, spot platinum was up 0.9% at $974 an ounce and spot palladium was up 1.3% at $538.04 an ounce.
Crude oil continued its losing streak, extending losses into a sixth straight session.
Holdings in exchange-traded funds backed by gold rose for 13th day. The dollar fell to 105.84 yen from 105.97 yen.
The Bank of Japan announced its decision to hold interest rates steady overnight and did not offer additional monetary stimulus. In late trading, the dollar was down 1.6 percent to 104.34 yen. The pound is recovering from a slide to two-month lows on the concern over next week’s Brexit referendum.
Yellen had hinted at higher chances of a rate hike than the markets had priced in, but weak May jobs data and the repercussions of Britain’s possible exit from the European Union forced her to take a dovish stance last week.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 72 points, or 0.4 percent, to 17,747 as of 11:12 a.m.
In the bond market, treasuries are extending their recent rally with a strong move to the upside.
Investors from the Americas to Asia have been piling into safe haven investments such as the yen, gold and bonds over the past week as a succession of opinion polls put Britain’s “Leave” camp in front ahead of the European Union referendum.
The pound edged up to US$1.4136 from US$1.4118 in NY but remains stuck around two-month lows. Germany’s DAX index dropped 1.4% and France’s CAC 40 fell 1.4%.
West Texas Intermediate settled down 1% at US$48.01 a barrel.
ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 48 cents to close at $48.01 a barrel in NY.
While the broader markets turned higher over the course of the session, gold stocks came under pressure after seeing early strength.
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METALS: Gold prices rose 20 cents to $1,288.30 an ounce.
