Action packed Wednesday: Talks on China's Covid easing, dollar retreats and most importantly, FOMC statement and Fed interest rate decision.

Over in Asian, stock markets rose partly in early trading hours as investors prepare themselves ahead of the interest rate decision by the Federal Reserve.  Meanwhile, Chinese equities bounced back on growing hearsay that the country will scale back its strict Covid policy.

Speculations on social media that China is considering a full reopening by as soon as March 2023, led to China’s Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index to jump 1.7% and the Shanghai Composite index to jump 1.5%.

Easing Covid restrictions are also positive for broader Asian economies, given their reliance on China s a trading partner. Nevertheless,  focus will be turning towards the conclusion of the Fed meeting later in the day.

The US dollar has lost some of its sharp gains this year in October on rumours that the Fed may indicate a slowdown in its aggressive tightening meeting.

According to a Reuters poll of currency analysts, the dollar’s move back in foreign exchange markets is temporary. The analysts said that the American currency still had enough strength to surpass its recent highs and continue its rise.

In corporate news, new Twitter owner Elon Musk, is making alterations to how users get verified. He tweeted on Tuesday evening that the social media platform will charge $8 per month for its Blue service, which includes its “verified” badge.

Key developments in today’s session:

• German Unemployment Change for Oct (08:55 GMT)
• Eurozone Final Manufacturing PMI for Oct (09:00 GMT)
• U.S. ADP Nonfarm Employment Change for Oct (12:15 GMT)
• U.S. Crude Oil Inventories (14:30 GMT)
• FOMC Statement and Fed Interest Rate Decision (18:00 GMT)

Earnings:

• Qualcomm is expected to report earnings of $3.15 a share on revenue of $11.35 billion.
• CVS Health Corp is set to report an EPS of $2 with revenue of $76.76 billion for the quarter.
• Estee Lauder is estimated to report an EPS of $1.33 with revenue of $3.99 billion.
• Ferrari NV is expected to report earnings of $1.15 a share on revenue of $1.2 billion.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)