(As of 7:20 am pacific)
The markets are drifting higher this morning as positive
progress is seen in US budget talks. The
Wall Street Journal and other reports signaled that negotiations between
Congress and the White House to avoid the fiscal cliff had made steady progress
in recent days. Attention also turned to
Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve as a two-day policy meeting kicks off
today. The Fed is expected to announce
plans for a fresh round of monthly treasury buying of $45 billion at the first
of the year. The new asset purchase
program would begin just after the expiration of Operation Twist, the Fed’s
program of artificially lowering interest rates. Investors mostly shrugged off economic
reports that showed the US trade deficit widened in Oct. as imports and exports
both dropped. European markets were
higher on optimism over the fiscal cliff progress and a surprise reading out of
Germany that showed investor sentiment rising.
Asian markets also saw broad gains after US stocks rose Monday. Oil is higher but gold prices lower
today. Interest rates saw a brief jump
and volatility is lower. Today is
shaping up to be a positive day as the rumors on fiscal cliff progress is
bringing a jolt of confidence to the market.
