Concern that years of cheap cash could be coming to an end has roiled markets this month. Current single-family home sales went up 6 points to 71; sales expectations over the next six months rose 5 points to 71 and buyer traffic increased 4 points to 48.
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Asian shares were mostly lower Tuesday amid a nervous wait for potential policy moves by the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slipped 0.2 percent, after major U.S. indexes ended a choppy session almost flat. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 2,021.39.
With the market closely watching the European Central Bank, the Bank of Japan, as well as the possibility of a USA rate hike later in the year, the forecast for bond remains unclear.
EMini futures for the S&P 500 also edged up 0.2 percent, after major USA indexes ended Monday’s choppy session almost flat. In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was 0.3 percent higher.
While the overwhelming consensus is for the U.S. central bank to hold rates steady, investors are looking to see if the Fed will give clearer hints on the timing of the next rate hike, which many expect to be in December. Tobira shares skyrocketed to $39.22 and Allergan fell $5.29, or 2.2 percent, to $240. The euro firmed to $1.1178 from Monday’s low of $1.1149, while the British pound edged up to $1.3038.
The yen was changing hands at 101.91 per dollar.
In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Tuesday after Venezuela said that global supplies needed to fall by 10 percent in order to bring production down to consumption levels, and technical indicators also pointed to cheaper crude futures.
Energy shares slipped 0.1 per cent, pulling back as oil prices pared gains during the session.
Gold rose $7.60 to $1,317.80 an ounce.
EARLY LEADERS: General Electric gained 27 cents to $29.95 to lead industrial companies, while Honeywell climbed $1.39, or 1.2 percent, to $115.65 and power management company Eaton rose $1.43, or 2.3 percent, to $63.78.
U.S. stocks ended little changed on Monday, with gains in big bank stocks offsetting a drag from Apple, as investors braced for the Federal Reserve meeting later this week. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.1 percent to 3,023.00, and India’s Sensex lost 0.5 percent to 28,503.16. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index gained 0.07% lifted by Australia’s central bank report it would keep interest rates on hold possibly until next year to support growth. Apple shares shed 1.2 percent after registering huge gains last week.
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SAREPTA SURGING: Sarepta Therapeutics soared $23,11, or 82.1 percent, to $51.26 after the Food and Drug Administration granted tentative approval to its drug Exondys 51, a treatment for a type of muscular dystrophy. While the Federal Reserve remains the world’s most important central bank the impact of what the Japanese could announce overnight – lower, more negative interest rates and an operation to give yields a boost – is even more interesting as it points to a possible another iteration of these rather extraordinary policy measures from the world’s economic policymakers.
