European Markets Open Higher

EU Markets Higher

BoE Interest Rate Decision to Affect the GBP

NFP Report to Affect the USD

Last Week’s Recap – Fed Makes Dovish Comments Sending Dollar Lower

Last week the Federal Reserve signaled that shrinking of holdings bonds could start as soon as September sketching a rather dovish outlook of its future monetary policy. The U.S. central bank maintained its benchmark key interest rate at 1.25% and suggested it would stick to its slow path of monetary tightening. The Federal Reserve’s dovish statement led to a drop of the US dollar against its major rivals and sent other currencies like the Canadian dollar rallying.*

Monday Morning Briefing – European Markets Open Higher; Oil Hits 2-month Highs

European bourses started the day higher on Monday morning as investors look ahead to key economic data and important earnings reports. Oil prices hit a two-month high today, lifted by a tightening U.S. crude market and a threat of sanctions against Venezuela. Crude Oil WTI and Brent Oil added 0.4 percent respectively as of 7:00 GMT.

HSBC is among the key players reporting today. Europe’s largest bank has reported a set of financial results that beat estimates in the first half of 2017 and announced a $2B share buyback. Specifically, HSBC’s pre-tax profit came in at $10.24B, 5% higher than a year ago. The lender’s share price has rallied in the past year, boosted by a weaker pound. You can find and trade HSBC stock (CFDs) on BDSwiss’ WebTrader platform.**

Important Events and News Releases that will Define this Week’s Markets:

THU 3/8: BoE Interest Rate Decision to Affect the GBP

The Bank of England has left the base rate at 0.25% since August 2016 and is not expected to raise key interest rates this Thursday. A surprise rate hike however, could cause the GBP to rally against its major rivals. The BoE is due to release its latest monetary policy decisions on Thursday at 11:00 GMT.***

BDSwiss is offering a FREE LIVE Trading Session on the day of the BOE interest rate announcement. Join our online webinar and watch our experts trade the GBP crosses!

FRI 4/8: Non Farm Payrolls to Affect the USD

This Friday traders will be looking forward to July’s Non Farm Payroll data which is expected to come lower at 180K versus a previous 222K. An even weaker than expected reading should be taken as negative for the USD crosses. July’s NFP release is due this Friday at 12:30 GMT.***

Join our Free Live Trading Session on the day of the NFPs’ release. How will the USD crosses react to the news?