The Fed, which kept monetary policy on hold after a two-day meeting, signaled greater optimism about the economy, forecasting that the unemployment rate could fall to 6.5% by 2014, one year sooner than the central bank had previously estimated.
Asian stocks fell Thursday as data showed Chinese manufacturing activity deteriorating further in June, adding to the selling pressure after the Fed revealed that the central bank may start to scale back its asset purchases later this year if the economy continues to strengthen.
The Hang Seng Index dropped to a nine-month low during the session, and was down 2.4% by late morning in Hong Kong, while the S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.2% in Sydney. The Shanghai Composite Index, which ended at a six-month low on Wednesday, dropped a further 1.5%.
The "flash" version of HSBC manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to a nine-month low of 48.3, down from May's final reading of 49.2. The subindex measuring output swung from expansionary territory to an eight-month low of 48.8, while those for overall new orders and for new export orders both showed an accelerating decline.
NYMEX light sweet crude oil futures for August delivery is trading down $1.36 at $ 97.12 per barrel. Yesterday, it fell 20 cents, or 0.2%, to settle at $98.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
At 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that supplies rose by 300,000 barrels for the week ended June 14, to 394.1 million barrels. A Platts survey of analysts forecast a 1 million-barrel decline, and the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude supplies dropped by 4.3 million barrels.
MCX July crude oil futures may open today’s session near Rs 5740 levels with support around Rs 5700-5650 levels.
Source by Commodity Insights
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