Global Equities Hit New All Time High Ahead Of The Fed; VIX < 10; Japan Stocks Surge

S&P futures are little changed as the Fed begins its two-day FOMC meeting pushing the VIX below 10, down 1.3% and falling for the 7th day; European shares are lower as is the dollar while Japanese stocks soar on the back of a tumbling yen as a snap election in Japan now appears imminent. Despite the cautious action ahead of the Fed, the The MSCI All-Country World Index rose 0.1% to a new record high.

Among the notable overnight moves, the USDCNH climbed to highest since late August ahead of this week’s FOMC decision. Ten-year Treasury yields fell 1 bp; Australia’s 10-year gained 1 bp. Japanese equities rose 1.5% ahead of an expected snap election to be called by PM Abe this week; China and Hong Kong shares declined. WTI crude holds just below $50; Dalian iron ore contract dropped. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed before tomorrow’s Fed’s policy decision, when interest-rate projections are seen drawing more attention than any balance-sheet announcement as tapering is seen as a given. The euro was supported by unwinding of shorts against the pound and by yen selling amid improved risk appetite and reports of Japan PM Abe calling for snap elections. Treasuries were underpinned in Asian hours as Japanese investors returned after Monday’s holiday, while price action was muted in London trading.

Meanwhile, nobody appeared concerned about tomorrow’s Fed announcement, where the balance sheet unwind is expected while attention will focus on any revision to the Fed’s dots. “We are not overly concerned about” the Fed’s quantitative-tightening plans, Merrill Lynch and U.S. Trust head of fixed-income strategy Matthew Diczok told Bloomberg TV. “If you model it out, over about the next three years they’ll take out about $1.3 trillion or so. That’s only a third of what they put into the market. So it’s going to be very slow, very gradual, very deliberate and it shouldn’t lead to any near-term fireworks into the market at all.”

Following the recent improvement in data, December rate hike odds once again rose back to 50%, suggesting another rate hike may be possible this year.

 

JP Morgan Asset Management portfolio manager Iain Stealey said markets were now fully set for the Fed to officially announce it will cut, or taper, the amount it re-invests from the profits of its $4.2 trillion crisis-era bond portfolio. “They have already announced the amounts they are going to start with, $10 billion on a monthly basis and probably starting over the next month or so,” Stealey said. “What may be more important to keep an eye on is the dot-plot. We still think they will have the dots set up to expect one more hike this year, which will obviously be in December, and three next year.”

With little in terms of overnight newsflow, the highlight was Japanese shares which surged to their highest level in more than two years as the yen weakened for a third day, bolstering appetite for electronics makers, autos and banks. Japanese equities gained on expectations Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will call a snap election. As reported on Sunday, Prime Minister Abe is considering calling a poll for as early as next month to take advantage of his improved approval ratings in the wake of the North Korea crisis, and disarray in the main opposition party, according to sources. The benchmark Topix index extended gains after capping its best week since April on Friday, as investor focus shifted to economic fundamentals from concerns over North Korea. The yen dropped to an almost two-month low against the dollar Tuesday.

Abe said Monday he’ll decide on calling a snap election after he returns from a trip to the U.S., confirming our previous report that he’s considering calling a vote a vote more than a year early, prompting speculation for more fiscal stimulus while keeping the BOJ on hold. “The weaker yen is providing tail wind to export-related stocks” after the market shrugged off the North Korea’s missile launch last week, Hiroaki Hiwada, a strategist at Toyo Securities told Bloomberg. “The equity market is taking the news about a possible snap election positively as it boosts expectations Abe’s coalition parties will retain power.” As a result, “Japanese shares generally gain around calls to hold new elections”, Nomura Securities wrote in a report.

Stefan Worrall, director of Japan equity sales at Credit Suisse in Tokyo said there has been concern growing for a while among foreign investors about the future of Abe’s stimulus-focused Abenomics program. “If Abe is cemented in power for another few years, that would be a market-positive event,” he said. “Certainty is preferred to uncertainty, when it comes to market confidence.”

The Nikkei’s 2 percent jump overnight took its gain to almost 30 percent since Abe took power in late 2012.

Another notable overnight move was the sudden drop in the yuan, where the CNH tumbled to a two-and-a-half week low as a state-run firm was said to be buying dollars to make dividend payments. The onshore yuan dropped as much as 0.34% to 6.5987 per dollar and was down 0.12% at 6.5838 as of this morning. In addition to the currency move, the PBOC pumps in net 150b yuan ($23b) via reverse- repurchase agreements, after adding 300b yuan Monday.

Elsewhere in Asia the mood had been more subdued. South Korean shares dipped 0.1 percent, against a backdrop of caution ahead of the Fed meeting as well as continuing tensions on the Korean peninsula. The MSCI Emerging Market Index decreased 0.3 percent, the largest dip in more than two weeks. Asian stock traded cautiously ahead of the FOMC and as the region failed to maintain the early impetus from US where financials led the S&P 500 and DJIA to fresh record closes. Australia’s ASX 200 (-0.1%) and Nikkei 225 (+2.0%) were positive in which the latter surged as it played catch up to the gains on return from holiday, while weakness in defensive stocks restricted upside in Australia. Shanghai Comp. (-0.2%) and Hang Seng (-0.4%) were dampened despite another firm PBoC liquidity operation, with the underperformance in China the rest of the region attributed to profit taking. The PBOC injected net 150b yuan in open-market operations on Tuesday, bringing the additions since last Thursday to 750b yuan. 10yr JGBs lacked demand amid the positive risk tone in Japan and although the BoJ were present in the bond market, this was for a relatively reserved JPY 535bln total.