Economic calendar: All about the Fed!

• European indices set for lower opening

• Fed rate decision at 7:00 pm BST

• Partial mobilization in Russia

Stock markets in Europe are set for a lower opening of the cash trading session today. Moods worsened following news of partial mobilization in Russia, which means a further escalation of the conflict and a potential increase of geopolitical tensions around the world. 

While the war in Ukraine will be on watch, today is all about the US central bank. The Fed will announce monetary policy decisions at 7:00 pm BST, followed by the press conference of Chair Powell at 7:30 pm BST. Markets expect a 75 bps hike today, which would be the third straight three-quarter point increase, pushing borrowing costs to the 3%-3.25% range, the highest since 2008. However some economists believe that the FED could deliver an even bigger rate hike. At the same time, the so-called dot plot is expected to show interest rates will likely reach 4% by December, above 3.4% projected in June, and rise to around 4.5% next year, higher than 3.8% seen three months ago. Apart from Fed, DOE oil inventories data at 3:30 pm BST may trigger some volatility on oil.

9:00 pm BST - Poland, retail sales for August. Expected 20.0% YoY. Previous 18.4% YoY

3:00 pm BST - US, Existing home sales for August. Expected: 4.7 million. Previous: 4.81 million

3:30 pm BST - DOE report on oil inventories.

• Oil inventories. Expected: 2.161 mb (API: +1.035 mb)

• Gasoline inventories. Expected: -0.431 mb (API: +3.23 mb)

• Distillate inventories. Expected: +0.42 mb (API: +1.54 mb)

7:00 pm BST - FOMC rate decision