03.11. Global stocks and Wall Street hit record highs ahead of Fed meeting

News for today, November 3rd:

European stock markets are expected to open lower on Wednesday ahead of the highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting, which could begin to ease monetary stimulus introduced in the world's largest economy during the pandemic. Wall Street's major indices rose to record highs on Tuesday as corporate earnings season continues to improve stock sentiment. The MSCI Global Index, which tracks stocks in 50 countries, was down 0.01% but still close to a record high reached on Tuesday, when European and US stocks rallied amid strong corporate earnings.

In Asia, global stocks held near record highs on Wednesday, while foreign exchange markets and US Treasuries remained stable. In Europe, German airline Lufthansa (DE: LHAG) reported a return to operating profit in the third quarter for the first time since the pandemic began. Also in the news of the world's central banks: The Bank of England on Thursday could become the first of the largest central banks in the world to raise rates after the coronavirus. In economic news, the main release on Wednesday will be the eurozone unemployment rate for September.

Oil prices fell Wednesday as industry data indicated a significant increase in crude oil and distillate inventories in the United States, the world's largest consumer of oil, as well as due to the pressure on OPEC to increase supply. The price of Brent crude is $ 83,46 per barrel, WTI — $ 82,51. EUR/USD is at 1.1581, GBP/USD — 1.3612, gold is at $ 1,781.34 per ounce.­­­­