Market movers today: FOMC meeting minutes

DANSKE BANK. Today's most interesting event are the minutes from the FOMC meeting on 29 October, when the Fed turned more hawkish on the labour market saying that the underutilisation of labour resources was diminishing.

Interestingly, hawks Charles Plosser and Richard Fisher did not dissent, even though the forward guidance was still in the statement. Fisher had previously refrained from dissenting, reasoning that the discussion was moving in his direction. It might suggest that the minutes will reflect a hawkish twist.

Minutes from the latest UK MPC meeting are also due for release and are likely to be dovish. Data in the UK have generally been soft recently and the latest inflation report from Bank of England showed a risk that inflation could fall below 1% within six months. Focus will be on how the hawks see the latest development.

In the US building permits and housing starts are released. Yesterday's NAHB housing index revealed that it increased to 58 in November from 54 in October and was above 53 for the fourth month in a row. However, the trend in housing starts has been soft compared to the NAHB survey.

In Denmark focus continues to be on the refinancing auctions.