CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - World market focus is currently on the interest rate
decision due from the Bank of England on Thursday morning. The BoE is widely
expected to retain rates at the current level. Nevertheless, markets are eagerly
waiting to know the MPC voting pattern as well as the guidance on the interest
rate trajectory.

Meanwhile, as expected, the Swiss National Bank reduced its key policy rate by
25 basis points to 1.25 percent while Norway's Norges Bank maintained status quo
on rates in line with view.

Wall Street Futures are trading with minor gains. European benchmarks are
trading in positive territory. Asian shares however finished trading on a mostly
negative note.

Dollar Index gained. Bond yields mostly hardened. Crude oil prices firmed up
amidst geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Gold prices are hovering close
to the flatline. Cryptocurrencies mostly rebounded.

Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 38,887.00, up 0.13%
S&P 500 (US500) at 5,511.70, up 0.45%
Germany's DAX at 18,195.05, up 0.71%
U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 8,217.05, up 0.15%
France's CAC 40 at 7,637.65, up 0.89%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,927.55, up 0.86%
Japan's Nikkei 225 at 38,646.50, up 0.29%
Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 7,769.40, down 0.00%
China's Shanghai Composite at 3,005.44, down 0.42%
Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 18,313.72, down 0.63%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.0726, down 0.15%
GBP/USD at 1.2704, down 0.10%
USD/JPY at 158.44, up 0.22%
AUD/USD at 0.6669, down 0.03%
USD/CAD at 1.3714, up 0.07%
Dollar Index at 105.41, up 0.15%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 4.255%, up 2.50%
Germany at 2.4370%, up 1.37%
France at 3.170%, up 0.44%
U.K. at 4.1220%, up 1.28%
Japan at 0.948%, down 0.63%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Aug) at $85.26, up 0.22%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Aug) at $80.72, up 0.01%.
Gold Futures (Aug) at $2,348.40, up 0.06%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $65,636.87, up 0.57%
Ethereum at $3,574.89, up 1.09%
BNB at $602.81, up 0.67%
Solana at $136.98, down 1.23%
XRP at $0.4945, up 0.32%.



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