Sydney Open Briefing: Thursday, October 29, 2026

The Sydney session commences following a mixed overnight period, where a hawkish Federal Reserve tone influenced market dynamics. The Fed maintained its interest rate at 4.00%, aligning with consensus. However, the accompanying statement registered a hawkish score of +0.75 and notably differed from its predecessor. This development contributed to a broader USD weakness, with USDCAD declining -0.29%, USDCHF falling -0.26%, and AUDUSD advancing +0.26%. In equity markets, USTEC saw a -0.62% decrease, while the US30 index posted a +0.30% gain. Gold, XAUUSD, also climbed +0.34%.

Over the last 24 hours, the Canadian Dollar emerged as the strongest currency, up +0.40%, closely followed by the Australian Dollar, which gained +0.39%. A hawkish speech from the Bank of Canada, scoring +0.85, further supported CAD. The US Dollar experienced a slight decline of -0.05%. In positioning shifts, the crowd on EURUSD moved 9pt toward short positions. The overall risk meter indicated a marginal risk-off sentiment at -0.04.

Looking ahead, the primary focus for traders during the Sydney session will be the Australia Employment Change (AUD, High) release, scheduled for Thu 00:30 UTC.

Scheduled this session (High and Medium impact)

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.