Markets Overnight: All is Quiet on the Western Front

by Enis October 8, 2013 4:31 am • Commentary

Asset prices for the most part are little changed from where they were as U.S. traders left their desks yesterday.  Not much progress on the U.S. political negotiations, which continue to dominate the headlines.

  1. Asian Indices Higher, Reverse From Red to Green – Dip buyers came out of the woodwork early in the Asian session, and most major equity indices ended the day in the green.  China, Indonesia, and Thailand were the best performing markets. 
  2. European Stock Indices Open Near Flat – Not much price action early in the European session.  All major indices are red, but all down less than 0.5%.  The 20 day moving average in the SX5E is at 2908.
  3. Commodities, Currencies, Bonds Mixed – No major moves in the other asset classes.  The USD/JPY cross is higher by almost 0.5%, which helped risk appetite in Asia.  Copper and oil are a touch higher, and Treasuries a bit lower.  SPX Futures are essentially unchanged as well.
  4. FOMC Minutes Release at 2:00 pm tomorrow – No major economic reports today.  Tomorrow’s Minutes do not have the same importance as usual since most market participants now view rule out any sort of taper until at least December (and likely 2014).  However, the broad tone of the FOMC is, as always, still of great interest to traders.
  5. YUM and AA Report Tonight, COST Tomorrow Morning – Earnings season starts in earnest next week, but a few early reports trickle in over the next 48 hours.  JPM and WFC will report on Friday morning, kicking off the financials sector’s reports, which will come in a flurry next week.