NordFX MORNING UPDATE | April 29, 2026

📊 WALL STREET (Tuesday close) S&P 500 fell 0.49% to 7,138.80 — weighed down by oil price gains and an OpenAI revenue miss report. Nasdaq shed 0.9% to 24,663.80. Dow slipped 25.86 pts to 49,141.93. Markets are now squarely focused on Powell’s final FOMC decision today (2 PM ET) and mega-cap earnings: Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft all report after close.

🌏 ASIA TODAY (April 29) Japan’s Nikkei 225 is CLOSED for a public holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained +1.2%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 edged down 0.26%, dragged by US-Iran uncertainty and tech pressure after China ordered Meta to unwind its Manus AI acquisition. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures point marginally higher (+0.1–0.2%).

🏦 FED MEETING — KEY EVENT TODAY The FOMC wraps up its April meeting today. Rates are expected to stay at 3.50–3.75% (99% probability per CME FedWatch). This is Jerome Powell’s last meeting as Fed Chair before Kevin Warsh takes over mid-May. All eyes on the press conference at 2:30 PM ET for tone on inflation and future policy.

🛢️ OIL — Still Hot WTI: ~$99.32 (-0.6% today), Brent: ~$104.50. The Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed (now in week 9 of the US-Iran conflict), keeping prices elevated. Trump reportedly rejected Iran’s latest proposal — no diplomatic breakthrough yet. The UAE announced it will exit OPEC next month.

🥇 GOLD Gold is under pressure, falling toward ~$4,606/oz (-1.85%), near a 3-week low. Rising oil prices are stoking inflation fears, which lifts rate-hold expectations — a headwind for the non-yielding metal.

💶 FOREX EUR/USD slipping below 1.1690, hitting a 2-week low as the dollar firms ahead of the FOMC. Dollar Index (DXY) up ~0.26%.

₿ CRYPTO Bitcoin dipped below $76,000 Tuesday as traders de-risked ahead of the FOMC. Analysts split: a dovish tone from Powell could push BTC toward $80K+, while a “sell the news” reaction risks a drop to $70K.

⚠️ WATCH TODAY

• FOMC rate decision — 2:00 PM ET
• Powell press conference — 2:30 PM ET
• Big Tech Q1 earnings: GOOGL, AMZN, META, MSFT after close
• US GDP & PCE data due Thursday

📌 Trade wisely. Markets involve risk. This is not investment advice.

🌅 NordFX MORNING UPDATE | April 29, 2026 was originally published in Coinmonks on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.