Mid-week FOMC meeting to take centre stage

ECONOMICS, relatively more predictable for markets than politics (these days, at least), will likely take centre stage over the coming week with the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in mid-week.

The Fed fund futures implied a 97.8 per cent chance of a 25 basis point (bp) rate hike at the upcoming meeting.

"Our baseline remains for the Fed to hike by 25 bps in June and September, followed by the announcement of balance sheet reduction in December," said Citi Research.

US stocks' outing last Friday could lead to a more subdued start for t…