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By Lorcan Roche Kelly
(Bloomberg)
Draghi’s last stand, it’s PMI day, and earnings season continues apace. Here are some of the things people in markets are talking about today.
Ciao
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi gives the last post-decision press conference of his term today. While economists expect no policy change from this meeting, Draghi is likely to be questioned about fears over the economic outlook for the euro area. There will also be time to reflect on his legacy and how the policies introduced under his leadership have transformed the ECB. Away from the action in Frankfurt, the central banks of Norway, Sweden, Ukraine and Turkey all announce monetary policy decisions today.
Growth outlook
There were more signs of weakening global growth in the latest economic data. Factory activity fell to the lowest level in three years in Japan, while the economic expansion in South Korea slowed. Purchasing manager numbers for the euro area showed the region remains on the brink of a contraction, with signs in Germany that the manufacturing slump is starting to take a toll on employment. One bright spot was a surprise increase in the French services sector. Markit PMI numbers for the U.S. economy are published at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
Earnings
Investors will look to the effect of Amazon.com Inc.’s investment spending on the bottom line when the company reports its third-quarter performance after U.S. markets close. Twitter Inc. reports before the open, with analysts expecting both user growth and increased revenue. Among the many other companies announcing earnings today are Intel Corp., 3M Co., American Airlines Group Inc., Raytheon Co. and Comcast Corp.
Markets rise
Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 0.3% while Japan’s Topix index closed 0.3% higher as positive U.S. earnings data tempered negative sentiment. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index was 0.5% higher at 5:45 a.m. with investors expecting little to move the dial from today’s ECB meeting. S&P 500 futures pointed to a gain at the open, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.766% and gold slipped.
Coming up…
Jobless claims numbers at 8:30 a.m. are expected to hold close to last week’s level, while durable goods orders for September, due at the same time, are forecast to post a decline. New homes sales data is published at 10:00 a.m. The Federal Reserve’s enhanced repo operations start today, with the amount of available liquidity boosted to $120 billion for the overnight operation and to $45 billion for its 14-day term repo as the bank seeks to quell any month-end market pressures.
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