Fed To Make Surprise Announcement

The Fed will be making a surprise announcement at an unscheduled meeting this morning and analysts are expecting to hear about an interest rate hike earlier than the December date discussed until now.

Major U.S. indices ended last week with gains close to 3 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 341 points, or 1.94 percent, higher at 17,824, the S&P 500 ended 36 points, or 1.75 percent, up at 2,089, while the Nasdaq was 121 points, or 2.65 percent, higher to finish at 4686.35.

Asian markets followed the Wall Street rally in overnight trading as investors looked for clues from central bankers on the course of U.S. monetary policy. The ASX 200 was up 26 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,281 in the afternoon trading session. Japan’s markets were closed for a holiday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were off 0.2 percent while South Korea’s main index gained 0.7 percent and Australian stocks added 0.35 percent.

Euro Slumps

The euro slumped to a seven-month low on Monday on fears of more policy easing in Europe after the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, hinted yet again that the ECB could introduce new stimulus measures at its Dec. 3 policy meeting.

Worries about Chinese demand to hammer down commodity prices again sent copper to its lowest in over six years. Gold producers also took major hits, with share prices down between 2 and 6.6 percent. Oil prices remained under pressure on the back of continued global supply surplus, with U.S. crude trading at $41.36 a barrel while the internationally traded Brent benchmark was down 38 cents, or 0.85 percent, to $44.28 a barrel.