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U.S. Stock Futures Slide as Tech Rout Deepens on Amazon Capex Shock 
Asian Currencies Trade Sideways as Dollar Stabilizes, Yen Weakens Ahead of Japan Election 
Australia’s December Trade Surplus Expands but Falls Short of Expectations 
South Korea’s Weak Won Struggles as Retail Investors Pour Money Into U.S. Stocks 
The U.S. Treasuries climbed Thursday ahead of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the second quarter of this year, scheduled to be released today by 12:30GMT, besides, the initial jobless claims, FOMC member Kaplan’s speech and the 7-year auction, all due for today by 12:30GMT, 16:30GMT and 17:00GMT respectively.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasuries slumped nearly 2 basis points to 3.044 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields slipped 1-1/2 basis points to 3.176 percent and the yield on the short-term 2-year too traded nearly 1-1/2 basis points lower at 2.815 percent by 09:55GMT.
In line with market expectations, the Fed raised interest rates by 25bps at this week’s two-day monetary policy meeting which concluded late on Wednesday, taking the target range for the federal funds rate to 2.00-2.25 percent. Changes to the post-meeting statement were minimal with one exception: the Committee removed the reference to the policy stance as “accommodative”, Eurobank Economic Analysis & Financial Markets Research reported.
However, this has no implications for the Fed’s future rate tightening path. The Committee reiterated expectations for further gradual rate tightening and the median dots in the Summary of Economic Projections continued to suggest another hike in December, three in 2019 and one more in 2020. In reaction to the FOMC policy outcome, UST yields fell and the DXY index gained some ground.
In the US, today will bring the final reading on Q2 GDP, which is likely to leave the growth rate little changed from the current estimate of 4.2 percent q/q ann. albeit with risks skewed slightly towards an upwards revision. In addition, advance goods trade, durable goods orders and inventory reports for August will cast some light on how GDP growth is shaping up in Q3.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Futures traded 0.06 percent higher at 2,913.50 by 10:10GMT, while at 10:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Dollar Strength Index remained neutral at 85.85 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
