S&P futures are little changed as the Fed begins its two-day FOMC meeting pushing the VIX below 10, down 1.3% and falling for the 7th day; European shares are lower as is the dollar while Japanese stocks soar on the back of a tumbling yen as a snap election in Japan now appears imminent. Despite the cautious action ahead of the Fed, the The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.1% to a new record high.
Last week's bullish sentiment that sent the S&P not only to a new all time highs, but a burst of last-second buying pushed above 2,500 for the first time ever, has carried through to the new week, with European and Asian shares rallying across the board, US futures again the green, and world stocks hitting a new record high on Monday ahead of a historic Fed meeting in which the FOMC is expected to announce the start of the shrinkage of its balance sheet.
S&P futures are slightly lower (ES -0.1%) as traders paid little attention to the latest missile test by North Korea on Friday, with shares and other risk assets barely moving, gold lower and focus rapidly returning to when and where interest rates will go up. Most global market are mostly unfazed, and the Korean Kospi actually closed up 0.4%, by the latest geopolitical escalation after a North Korean ballistic missile flew far enough to put the U.S. territory of Guam in range. European stocks edged fractionally lower while Asian shares advanced.
Global stocks backed off from all time highs, and S&P futures are unchanged ahead of the much anticipated US CPI report, which is expected to break a streak of five consecutive misses, while eyeing disappointing overnight Chinese economic data which missed across the board. European stocks and Asian markets were also modestly in the red, with the relentless global rally to new daily record highs taking a breather amid some concerns China's economy is rolling over, which weighed on commodities including base metals, which in turned dragged down mining stocks.
For the first day in three S&P futures have pulled back modestly from record levels as some investors cautioned that gains had gone too far, too fast, European shares are mixed while Asian equities extended their longest rising streak in almost two months as continued gains in Japan and India offset the losses in Hong Kong. The dollar ended a two-day advance as TSY yields dropped in what has become a close correlation trade (see below) while oil and gold rose, perhaps in response to the ongoing plunge in bitcoin.