The markets were trading fairly subdued although the US dollar was seen easing back. Economic data over the day included the German ZEW economic sentiment rising to 17.0, beating estimates of 12.3. The Eurozone ZEW economic sentiment was however soft, rising just 31.7 falling below estimates of 32.4. Data from the US saw the building permits which increased 1.30 million, but housing starts remained sluggish at 1.18 million.
Looking ahead, the main event for the day will be the FOMC meeting. The Fed is expected to announce it balance sheet normalization at today’s meeting while keeping interest rates steady. The Fed will also be releasing its dot plot giving fresh forecasts on GDP, inflation and interest rates. Later in the day, New Zealand GDP is expected to show a quarterly GDP growth rate of 0.8%.
