After a long run of 'minus' the MSCI Asia Pacific regional index finally revised its 'plus', and is up 0,3% at the end of the day, even as the Nikkei closed slightly lower on profit taking . The 81 billion dollar liquidity injection from the PBOC (the central bank in China) was worth interrupting the negative trend. The 500 billion yuan will be loaned for three months to each of the 5 major banks (100 billion for each). It is not a matter of securities purchases, but still it is an expansion of the monetary base, given that at the end of the three months the credit can be renewed; the amount is equivalent to a half point reduction in the compulsory reserve ratio.
Tonight the Fed will release the conclusions of the FOMC meeting, and analysts' attention will be focused on one adjective: 'considerable'. Will the release repeat the phrase 'considerable time' referring to the duration of super-low rates or not?
The Nikkei index lost 0,1% while the yen is stable (107,2). Equally little changed is the single currency (1,295), as well as the price of gold, stopped at 1237 $/ounce. Crude oil was clearly stronger: 94,9 for WTI and 99,1 for Brent.
