Market Highlights – White House shows willingness to increase stimulus while Fed stay put

 Business and Finance News:

A group of 50 Democratic and Republican members of Congress are said to unveil a $1.5 trillion bipartisan coronavirus relief legislation in the next 7 to 10 days in order to break a month-long impasse in COVID-19 talks between the White House and top Democrats yesterday. President Donald Trump has also called for “higher numbers” amid an impasse over a new coronavirus stimulus has upended a GOP effort to unite against Democrats pushing for a larger aid package.

On Thursday 2:00AM (Beijing time), the U.S. Federal Reserve concluded its policy meeting and announced its move to keep interest rates at the level of 0% to 0.25% unchanged. The US central bank has pledged to continue its support for the US economy during the current challenging times, in order to revive the labour market and stabilize prices.

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused great difficulties to people and economies in the U.S. and many other countries. While economic activity and employment have picked up in recent months, they are still far below the levels recorded at the beginning of the year. Falling demand and collapsing oil prices have driven down consumer price inflation. Overall financial conditions have improved in recent months, in part because of policy measures to support the economy and credit flows to American households and businesses.

Key economic and events to watch (Time zone: UTC+8):

20:30 U.S. Housing Starts for August – Previous: 1.496 million; Forecast: 1.478 million

20:30 U.S. Building Permits for August – Previous: 1.483 million; Forecast: 1.517 million

20:30 U.S. Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index – Previous: 17.2; Forecast: 15

22:30 U.S. EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage for the week ended Sept 11 – Previous: 70 billion cf; Forecast: 78 billion cf

Friday 07:30 Japan Core CPI for August – Previous: 0%; Forecast: -0.4%

The information and analysis included in this report only represent the research analyst’s views. Forex trading involves risk and you are advised to exercise caution in relation to the report. If you are in any doubt about any of the contents, you should obtain independent professional advice.