FED MAY INCREASE THE INTEREST RATE BY HALF OF PERCENTAGE POINT

Asia Pacific stocks were mostly up on Wednesday morning. The Shanghai Composite is up 2.41% at 3,047.06. Overall, the Singapore MSCI is up 0.22% at 312.45. Over in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index is down 0.73% at 20,801. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 is up 0.26% at 26,880.00, while the Topix index is up 0.18% at 1899.50. South Korea’s Kospi is down 0.11% at 2677.57. Australia S&P/ASX 200 down 0.16% at 7304.70.

Top News of the Day:

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday is expected to raise interest rates by half of a percentage point and announce the start of reductions to its $9 trillion balance sheet as U.S. central bankers intensify efforts to bring down high inflation.

Fed policymakers have widely telegraphed a double-barrelled decision that would lift the Fed’s short-term target policy rate to a range between 0.75% and 1%, and set in motion a plan to trim its portfolio of Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities (MBS) by as much $95 billion a month.

Market Summary as per 03/05/2022:

European equities Tuesday closing. The DAX futures contract in Germany traded up 0.72% at 14,039.47, CAC 40 futures up 0.79% at 6476.19 and the UK 100 futures contract in the U.K. up 0.22% at 7,561.33.

In the U.S. on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 0.20% at 33128.80. The S&P 500 up 0.48% at 4175.47 and the Nasdaq 100 up 0.11% at 13089.90, NYSE closes up 0.77% at 15729.52.

Top Market News Today:

In the Forex market, GBPUSD down 0.10% at 1.2482. The USDJPY up 0.03% at 130.178. The USDCHF up 0.07% at 0.9788. EURUSD down 0.02% at 1.0516, EUR/GBP up 0.14% at 0.8425. The USD/CNY flat at 6.6080 at the time of writing.

In the Commodity market U.S. Gold futures down 0.16% at $1,863.60. Elsewhere, Silver futures down 0.12% at $22.526 per ounce, Platinum up 0.78% at $967.50 per ounce, and Palladium up 0.09% at $2265.00.

Crude Oil up on Wednesday; Brent crude oil up 0.51% at $106.36 per barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (CLc1) up 0.61% at $103.00.

In the Cryptocurrency Markets, Bitcoin at 38190.00 up 1.47%, Ethereum up 1.08% at 2810.08, Litecoin at 100.21 up 0.92%, at the time of writing.

Top Market Segment to Watch Out Today:

GOLD: Gold was down on Wednesday morning in Asia as U.S. Treasury yields rose and the upcoming policy decision from the U.S. Federal Reserve dented demand for the yellow metal.

Gold futures were down 0.27% to $1,865.57 by 11:47 PM ET (3:47 AM GMT). Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yields firmed after retreating from the 3% mark hit during the previous session.

Economic News:

US: A gauge of logistics stress in the U.S. economy eased in April as freight transportation cooled, a sign that the broader economy is downshifting to a speed that remains expansionary.

The survey-based Logistics Managers Index fell from a record high in March to 69.7 last month, the lowest level since January 2021 and first drop this year. While the inventory and warehousing components showed only modest changes, transportation showed the biggest moves — with prices falling and capacity returning to positive territory for the first time since May 2020.

The report concluded that “inventory and warehousing metrics remain elevated, but transportation has clearly slowed. Whether this slowdown will result in recessionary pressures or is simply the market moderating towards more sustainable levels, remains to be seen.”

Eurozone: The European Union is expected to outline oil sanctions against Russia on Wednesday as its forces pounded targets in eastern Ukraine, unleashing rockets on a steel plant that is the last redoubt of resistance in the port city of Mariupol.

Scores of evacuees who managed to leave the city under U.N. and Red Cross auspices reached the relative safety of Ukraine-controlled Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday after cowering for weeks in bunkers beneath the sprawling Azovstal steel plant.

Weary-looking evacuees, including children and old people, clambered off buses after escaping the ruins of their home town in south-eastern Ukraine where Russia now claims control.

Top Economic Releases Today:

1. GERMANY Services PMI (Apr) today at 3:55 this time estimated 57.90, previously which was 56.10. 
2. EURO ZONE Services PMI (Apr) today at 4:00 this time estimated 57.70, previously which was 55.60.
3. U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment Change (Apr) today at 8:15 this time estimated 395K, previously which was 455K.
4. CANADA Trade Balance (Mar) today at 8:30 this time estimated 3.90B, previously which was 2.66B.
5. U.S. Crude Oil Inventories today at 10:30 this time estimated -0.829M, previously which was 0.692M.

TECHNICAL SUMMARY

GBPUSD

TRADE SUGGESTION- SELL AT 1.2490, TAKE PROFIT AT 1.2465 AND STOP LOSS AT 1.2503

EURUSD

TRADE SUGGESTION- SELL AT 1.0511, TAKE PROFIT AT 1.0489 AND STOP LOSS AT 1.0529

GBPJPY

TRADE SUGGESTION- SELL AT 162.524, TAKE PROFIT AT 161.575 AND STOP LOSS AT 163.180

CHFJPY

TRADE SUGGESTION- SELL AT 132.805, TAKE PROFIT AT 132.480 AND STOP LOSS AT 133.218

EURO STOXX 50

TRADE SUGGESTION- SELL AT 3697.00 TAKE PROFIT AT 3667.00 AND STOP LOSS AT 3732.00

WTI CRUDE OIL

TRADE SUGGESTION- BUY AT 105.24 TAKE PROFIT AT 107.64 AND STOP LOSS AT 103.27

GOLD

TRADE SUGGESTION- SELL AT 1870.65, TAKE PROFIT AT 1861.52 AND STOP AT 1877.88

BITCOIN

TRADE SUGGESTION- SELL AT 38719.50 TAKE PROFIT AT 38167.47 AND STOP AT 39199.27