In the United States, the Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day meeting today to decide on interest rates, while Federal Reserve chairman Ben...

In the United States, the Federal Open Market Committee will begin its two-day meeting today to decide on interest rates, while Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a press conference to announce the future pace of the Fed's MBS Purchase Program (September 19, 04:00 AEST). So far, the US dollar has retreated and US stocks have closed higher amid greater investor confidence that the US economy could withstand an expected reduction of Federal Reserve bond purchases. At the close, the Dow is up 0.23%, the S&P500 is up 0.43% and the Nasdaq is up 0.75%.