ASX200: Reaction to the FED and Australian Trade Data in Focus

• Private sector house approvals tumbled by 16.0%, weighing on the headline figure.
• Excluding houses, private sector dwellings surged by 18.1%.
• In spite of the September decline in building approvals, the series remains 18.2% higher than the pre-pandemic level in Sept-2019.

From China, the services sector was back in focus following disappointing NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI numbers from the weekend.

According to the Markit survey, the Caixin Services PMI rose from 53.4 to 53.8 in October.

• Both business activity and new work expanded at a solid pace at the start of the 4^th
• Employment at services companies rose for a 2^nd month in a row.
• Input prices rose at the fastest rate since July, however, leading to a further pickup in output charge inflation.

The Market Movers

It was a bullish day for the banks. ANZ rallied by 2.26% to lead the way. CBA (+1.17%), NAB (+1.35%), and Macquarie Group (+1.86%) also found strong support.

Westpac continued to struggle, however, rising by just 0.09%.

Commodity stocks also had a bullish session. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd rallied by 3.08% to lead the way. Rio Tinto (+1.17%) and BHP Group (+1.07%) also found strong support. Newcrest Mining eked out a 0.04% gain, however.

Other Asian Markets

Elsewhere, the markets struggled ahead of the FED’s overnight monetary policy decision.

The CSI300 (-0.39%) and the Hang Seng Index (-0.30%) saw red on the day.

The Day Ahead

It’s another relatively quiet day ahead on the Asian economic calendar. September trade data from Australia will influence early in the session.

From overnight, however, expect the FED’s policy decision and outlook in the economy and interest rates to be key. The U.S markets closed out the day in positive territory, which will likely deliver support going into the open.

Away from the economic calendar, corporate earnings and commodity prices will need monitoring.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the ASX200 was up by 37 points.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.