New York Open Briefing: Thursday, October 29, 2026
The New York session opens with a mixed global equity picture. Asian markets closed higher, with the JP225 up 0.92%, and European indices are also showing gains, as the DE40 advanced 0.83% and the UK100 rose 0.25%. Conversely, the US30 is currently down 0.65%. In currency markets, AUDUSD is down 0.36% and XAUUSD has declined 0.26%. The 24-hour currency strength indicates CAD leading at +0.37%, while USD is weaker by 0.13%, AUD by 0.20%, and JPY by 0.21%. The risk meter stands at +0.23, suggesting a slight risk-on tone.
Earlier, US Initial Jobless Claims were released at 194K, coming in below the consensus estimate of 198K, representing a 2.0% surprise. Ahead in the session, significant attention will be on the Eurozone. The ECB Deposit Facility Rate Decision and ECB Interest Rate Decision are scheduled for 13:15 UTC, with the consensus for the Interest Rate Decision at 2.65%, matching the previous rate. This will be followed by the Monetary Policy Statement at the same time. The ECB Press Conference and ECB Monetary Policy Press Conference are set for 13:45 UTC, with ECB President Lagarde Speech at 15:15 UTC.
Crowd positioning data shows shifts toward long on USDCAD by 8 points and toward short on GBPJPY by 9 points, BTCUSD by 10 points, and GBPUSD by 9 points over the last 24 hours. Looking ahead to the Asian session, Tokyo CPI excl. Food and Energy y/y and Retail Sales m/m for Japan are due late Thursday UTC.
Today, all eyes will be on the series of ECB announcements and the subsequent press conference.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Biggest moves since the previous session | JP225 +0.92%, DE40 +0.83%, US30 -0.65% |
| Currency strength, 24h | CAD strongest at +0.37%, JPY weakest at -0.21% |
| Risk meter | +0.23 (mildly risk-on) |
Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)
| Time | Ccy | Event | Impact | Consensus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:15 UTC | EUR | ECB Deposit Facility Rate Decision | High | – |
| 13:15 UTC | EUR | ECB Interest Rate Decision | High | 2.65% |
| 13:15 UTC | EUR | Monetary Policy Statement | High | – |
| 13:45 UTC | EUR | ECB Press Conference | High | – |
| 13:45 UTC | EUR | ECB Monetary Policy Press Conference | High | – |
| 15:15 UTC | EUR | ECB President Lagarde Speech | High | – |
| 23:30 UTC | JPY | Tokyo CPI excl. Food and Energy y/y | High | 3% |
| 23:50 UTC | JPY | Retail Sales m/m | High | – |
Times are UTC. This brief describes measured market state and the published schedule. It is not financial advice and nothing in it is a trade recommendation.