The NZD is the strongest and the USD is the weakest as the NA session begins

The day after the FOMC. China regulators ease market fears

The NZD is the strongest and the USD is the weakest of the majors a night after the FOMC kept rates unchanged and Chair Powell indicated no rush to taper bond purchases (or raise rates) any time soon. China eased fears after a call with market participants in which they said the regulation against education companies is an isolated incident. The Shanghai index rose 1.49%. Today, in addition to the weekly claims, the long awaited US GDP for the 2Q is expected to show growth of 8.5% (claims are expected at 385K vs 419K last week). Robinhood will go publc with the price near the low end of the price expectations at $38. Facebook and Paypal shares are lower in pre-market trading after warning on expectations going forward, but the Dow and S&P are higher. The Nasdaq is down marginally after rising for the 6th time in 7 days.

In other markets as North American trading gets underway shows:

Spot gold up $18.82 or 1.03% at $1825.30
spot silver is up $0.57 or 2.23% at $25.52
WTI crude oil futures are up $0.33 or 0.46% $72.71

In the premarket for US stocks, the Dow and S&P indices are higher while the NASDAQ is modestly lower/near unchanged.

Dow up 150 points. The index fell -128 points yesterday
S&P is up 10.3 points. The index fell -0.82 points yesterday
Nasdaq is trading up one point and off the lows from earlier today. The index rose 102 points yesterday

In the European equity markets, the major indices are trading higher: