Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. It's earnings time
1. It's earnings time
Many companies are reporting quarterly results ahead of the open Tuesday, including Verizon, 3M, DuPont, Under Armour, JetBlue, and McDonald's.
After the markets close, investors will hear from Apple, Twitter, Chubb and Panera Bread.
Traders will be very focused on Apple as there are growing concerns that the iPhone's popularity may have peaked.
These various earnings could set the direction for trading as U.S. stock futures are currently holding steady.
2. GBP hit by stimulus expectations
2. GBP hit by stimulus expectations
The GBP managed to pare losses on Tuesday, after hitting a session low of 1.3061 earlier in the session, amid mounting expectations for a rate cut from the Bank of England at the conclusion of its next policy meeting in early August.
The Financial Times reported that Martin Weale, a member of the BOE's rate-setting committee, had dropped his opposition to an easing and now favored immediate stimulus.
3. Fed two-day meeting kicks off
3. Fed two-day meeting kicks off
The Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting kicks off on Tuesday with markets preparing for the decision to be announced the following day.
The Fed is not expected to take action on interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting at 18:00GMT, on Wednesday, as policymakers wait for the dust to settle from Britain's decision to leave the EU, but market players will scrutinize its policy statement for fresh hints on the timing of interest rate hikes over the next several months.
A recent string of better than expected data reignited speculation that the U.S. central bank will raise interest rates before the end of the year. Interest rate futures are currently pricing in a 19% chance of a rate hike by September. December odds were at 52%, compared with less than 20% a week ago and up from 9% at the start of this month.
4. The JPY surges 1% as Japan stimulus plans fall short
4. The JPY surges 1% as Japan stimulus plans fall short
The yen surged to a more than one-week high against the dollar on Tuesday, amid speculation that Japan’s soon-to-be announced stimulus package will disappoint markets.
Investors were seemingly unimpressed by a Nikkei report the government planned a direct fiscal stimulus of around 6 trillion yen ($56 billion) over the next few years. But that may have disappointed a market looking for as much as 10 trillion to 20 trillion yen in fiscal stimulus.
Market players are also looking ahead to the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting later this week. The BOJ is widely expected to ease policy further at the conclusion of its meeting on Friday, which could include a rate cut deeper into negative territory and additional asset purchases.
