OVERNIGHT MARKETS ROUND UP – 19/03/14

Global markets are set for a fairly flat open this morning as investors cautiously enter the session due to the FOMC statement released this evening, often causing high levels of volatility. Throughout the night, markets in Asia had a quiet session with investors again not being spooked by the geopolitical issues that currently surround Russia. Investors seemed to find firmer ground as Vladimir Putin spoke out and said nothing too drastic, giving a window of opportunity for the bulls to come out. 

Economic data could be the key mover in global markets today with GBP unemployment rate, MPC Official Bank Rate Votes, MPC Asset Purchase Facility Votes and Claimant Count Change all being released at 09.30am this morning, followed shortly by the important annual budget release. Further into the evening, the FOMC statement will be released with consensus believing it will cut a further $10 billion from its quantitative easing programme; therefore we can expect global markets to be quite jittery upon the release of this statement.