Here are the 5 most important things to know for today.
1. BoJ reignites stimulus program
The Bank of Japan (BoJ) rebooted its stimulus program Wednesday with new tactics, although the Japanese central bank left interest rates and asset purchases unchanged.
Amid the actual changes, the BoJ removed the cap to its inflation target stating its intention to continue intervention until inflation exceeds the 2% mark “and stays above the target in a stable manner”.
Furthermore, it implemented a so-called “yield curve control” which is designed to cap 10-year government bond yields at 0%.
2. Fed expected to hold on rates
When U.S. markets open on Wednesday, investors will react to the BoJ decision and set up trades ahead of the long awaited policy decision from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is not expected to make a move on interest rates at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting at 18:00GMT on Wednesday, but investors will first focus on the statement and updated forecasts for economic growth and interest rates that will be released simultaneously with the rate decision for a first gauge on when the central bank contemplates returning to policy normalization.
Fed chair Janet Yellen will then hold what will be a closely-watched press conference 30 minutes after the release as investors look for any change in tone about the economy or future rate hikes.
Markets are currently pricing in just a 15% chance of a rate hike this week. For the meetings in November and December odds stood at 22% and 62.9%, respectively.
3. Global stocks react to BoJ ahead of Fed decision
Bullish sentiment in equities was buoyed on Wednesday as the BoJ announced its policy decision.
Asia was broadly higher, led by the 1.91% jump in the Nikkei 225.
European stocks also traded up as the region’s financial institutions spiked nearly 2% on hopes that the European Central Bank (ECB) would take a cue from the BoJ and follow through with more easing measures.
U.S. futures also pointed to a higher open, though gains were expected to limited by caution ahead of the Fed decision.
4. Oil jumps on huge supply withdrawal
Oil prices were sharply higher during European hours on Wednesday, after falling to a six-week low overnight, as market players awaited fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.
After markets closed Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute said that U.S. oil inventories fell by a whopping 7.5 million barrels in the week ended September 16.
That draw came ahead of the official government data. The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 14:30GMT amid analyst expectations for an increase of 3.4 million barrels.
U.S. crude oil futures gained 2.13% to $44.99 at 9:59AM GMT, while Brent oil traded up 1.94% to $46.77.
5. OECD cuts global growth forecasts
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cut its forecasts for global growth to 2.9% this year, down from a forecast of 3.0% in its last estimates in June.
This is the lowest level since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.
"This is well below past norms and implies that globalization as measured by trade intensity may have stalled," the Paris-based organization said.
OECD also cut its forecast for growth in the U.S. economy to 1.4% this year, from the prior estimate of 1.8%.