The first FOMC meeting this week is an historic one for many reasons. First it is the last time Ben Bernanke will chair the meeting. Second, for the first time in the FED’s history the Chair will be held by a woman, and third with several new members the voting pattern will be scrutinised very closely by the markets.
As we approach the 4th and final quarter of 2012 coupled with the Bernanke floor thanks to the unlimited buying of mortgage backed securities banks like JP Morgan (JPM, quote), Wells Fargo (WFC, quote) and Bank of America (BAC, quote) should do well especially with large funds chasing for performance going into year end.
The U.S. dollar continues to remain under pressure as the U.S. dollar index trades below the 80 level to 79.68 in anticipation of the Federal Reserve will begin its third round of monetary easing (QE3). Market participants are focusing on tomorrow’s statement from the FMOC scheduled for 12:30 a.m. ET.
Futures are suggesting the markets could build on yesterday’s bounce. Futures are up ahead of the open with S&P fair value at +13.00 and NASDAQ fair value at +21.80.
