A big day coming up for markets as the Fed Reserve leaves rates on hold.

The USD strengthened overnight as markets sold off, sending paired currencies down. The EURUSD opened the day at $1.21590 and edged up to a high of $1.21694 early. It remained steady for a number of hours before diving mid-session, hitting lows of $1.20578. It bounced off those lows late in the day and is now trading at $1.20933. The GBPUSD began the day at $1.37303 and lifted to a high of $1.37582 mid-session. Things went south from there as the pound fell over the next several hours to reach lows of $1.36574 late. A rebound was short-lived and the pair is now trading at $1.36650.

Indices were belted overnight as some traders took the opportunity to realise some profits. The Dow opened at 30,964.08 and ticked up to an opening-hour high of 30,989.98. It remained near those levels for the first half of the day before the sell-off kicked in. The losses piled up and accelerated heading into the close, with the index tumbling to lows of 30,151.04. It is currently at that level. The Dax was weighed down by the Dow after beginning the day at a high of 13,887.83. It traded near those levels for a few hours before plummeting mid-session, dropping to lows of 13,470.71 late. It is now trading at 13.507.70.

The day ahead sees the focus remain with the US at it publishes critical growth data. The much-anticipated Advance GDP figure will be released in the early hours of tomorrow morning with analysts predicting that the economy grew by 4.2% annualised in the previous quarter.

Other data published today includes:

Canada – Building Permits

Europe – German Prelim CPI, Spanish Unemployment Rate, Swiss Trade Balance

US – Advance GDP Price Index, Unemployment Claims, Goods Trade Balance, CB Leading Index, New Home Sales, Natural Gas Storage, Prelim Wholesale Sales

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