Market News

As investors await the European Central Bank’s policy decision on Thursday, and with more easing anticipated from the ECB, the Euro skidded to a 27-month low versus the strengthening U.S. Dollar.

The dollar marked a fresh seven-year high against the yen on Wednesday, which helped lift the Nikkei to a similar record, while oil prices recovered after data showed a drop in U.S. supply.

The U.S. Dollar Index edged higher after comments made by two officials of the Federal Reserve Bank helped to underpin the currency and kept expectations alive that the U.S. central bank will begin to tighten monetary policy by the second quarter of 2015.

Oil resumed declines after jumping from a five-year low and metals retreated amid the highest commodity-price volatility in two years. Asian stocks rebounded and South Korea’s won led emerging-market currencies higher.

The difficulties faced by the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan in restoring the economy to full health have not gone unnoticed by the world’s major credit rating agencies with Moody’s recently downgrading the country’s sovereign debt rating from AA3 to A1 and assigning Japanese debt with a “stable” outlook.

The decline in oil prices is proving to be the worst since the collapse of the financial system in 2008 and threatening to have the same global impact of falling prices three decades ago that led to the Mexican debt crisis and the end of the Soviet Union.

The surge in Chinese equity trading that coincided with market peaks in 2009 and 2010 has returned as the Shanghai Composite Index jumped to a three-year high.

Check out the trading schedule for the upcoming Winter 2014 holidays here.

The Australian Dollar touched on a 4-year trough versus the greenback, falling on data which shows that the Chinese economy continues to struggle to grow as well as efforts by the Reserve Bank of Australia to purposely devalue it.

Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index heading for a fourth day of gains, as materials and health-care shares advanced, countering a decline in Japan’s index amid a stronger yen.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued its statement on the global economy and said that Japan’s economy is likely to grow slower than anticipated, despite the BOJ’s numerous efforts to stimulate the economy.

OPEC is considering exemptions for three nations from any potential oil-production cuts. Saudi Arabia’s oil minister told reporters that he didn’t know what OPEC should do at its next meeting but he didn’t anticipate a difficult meeting when the group meets on Nov. 27 to decide its response to slumping crude.

Investors are all but convinced that the European Central Bank is on the verge of additional easing and have already begun the sell-off which sent the common currency Euro to a 2-year low versus its major rival, the U.S. Dollar.

Gold was trading close to a three-week high on Monday, holding its ground from the previous session on hopes that a surprise rate cut in China would boost demand for bullion in the top consumer, though a strong dollar capped gains.

Japan’s yen rose for the first time in seven days as Finance Minister Taro Aso said its decline has been too fast. Most Asian stocks fell, with the regional index headed to its biggest weekly retreat since mid-October, while crude oil climbed for a second day.