European stocks declined for first session in five ahead of Wednesday’s Dutch elections, debt ceiling expiration and the conclusion of the Fed’s 2-day meeting where it is expected to raise rates by 25 bps. Tightening concerns emerged, also dragging down Asian shares and S&P futures, while the dollar continued its rise for a second day. Crude oil has ended its six-day drop. The pound tumbled 0.8% to the lowest since mid-January in a delayed reaction after Theresa May won permission to trigger the country’s departure from the EU. On today’s US calendar, we get the Producer Price Index although most NYC-based traders are likely taking a snow day off or trading from home.
A quick reminder of the key events this week:
The Fed’s 26 bps increase is expected on Wednesday. The Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank Indonesia are expected to keep monetary policies unchanged on Thursday. The Dutch go to the polls on March 15. G-20 finance ministers will gather in Germany for a series of meetings. Trump is expected to unveil his budget In a relatively quiet session, the standout move was the plunge sterling which dropped on Tuesday after Britain’s parliament paved the way for Prime Minister Theresa May to launch divorce talks with the European Union. Curiously, on Monday, sterling had jumped 0.4 percent after Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded a new independent referendum in late 2018 or early 2019, once the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU are clearer with the delayed selloff coming largely on priced-in news.
This post was published at Zero Hedge on Mar 14, 2017.
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