LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – The dollar fell from a two-week high on Monday, with a stronger oil price the chief theme in a market battening down the hatches ahead of central bank policy meetings in Japan and the United States. Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, rose 55 cents to $46.33 per barrel. US short-term interest rate futures imply a 55 percent chance of the Fed raising interest rates by December, compared to around 47 percent before the inflation data, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
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Earlier this month, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, a noted monetary policy dove, took a more hawkish tone by expressing support for a gradual increase in rates sooner than later. But recent lackluster data, including a slowdown in jobs growth, has raised doubts about the health of the economy.
Unless the BOJ surprises by adopting some form of radical policy easing, the yen will probably strengthen after its meeting, said Satoshi Okagawa, senior global markets analyst for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Singapore.
Other analysts, such as those at Goldman Sachs Group Inc, have pushed back their Fed-hike calls to December this year from September.
The probability of a December move shot up to 70 percent in the past moth from 57.5 percent in the previous month, according to a Reuters poll of over 100 economists. China’s Shanghai Composite Index added 0.8 percent to 3,026.05.
The BOJ could shift negative interest rates to the primary focus of its monetary policy, heightening market disquiet over what any move away from quantitative easing reveals about the waning firepower of global central banks. US stocks were poised for a solid opening too, with Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.4 percent.
Eight of the 11 major S&P 500 indexes were higher, with the materials sector .SPLRCM rising the most by 0.72 percent.
Casino operator Isle of Capri jumped almost 30 percent in premarket trading on Monday after Eldorado Resorts said it would buy the company for $1.7 billion, including debt.
Wall Street was higher on Monday, lifted by financial and energy stocks, a day before the Federal Reserve meets to discuss interest rates.
The US currency fell sharply against the yen, losing 0.50% to ¥101.78, and declined 0.04% against the euro, trading at 0.8957cents. The industry will find out on Thursday, September 22, at 10 a.m. EST when the National Association of Realtors releases it latest report.
Shares of casino operator Isle of Capri jumped 28.5 percent in premarket trading on Monday after Eldorado Resorts said it would buy the company for $1.7 billion, including debt. It gained to 65.02 euro cents from 64.59 cents and rose to ¥74.55 from ¥74.39.
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US electrical components distributor Avnet was up 7.2 percent at $42.11 after it announced the sale of its IT business to tech products distributor Tech Data Corp for about $2.6 billion. Tech Data’s stock soared 21 percent.
