STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Monday, 4 November 2013

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31. MARKETS SOLID AS FOCUS MOVES FROM FED TO ECB

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_MARKETS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-11-04-06-38-57

LONDON (AP) -- Markets were trading in narrow ranges Monday as investors awaited a raft of economic and corporate news over the coming days, including the monthly policy meeting of the European Central Bank.

For weeks, the U.S. Federal Reserve has been the central bank most investors have been monitoring as they looked for clues as to when it will start withdrawing its monetary stimulus. The $85 billion in monthly asset purchases have been one of the reasons why many stock indexes, including the main U.S. markets, have struck record highs this year.

Following the Fed's latest policy statement last week, investors now think "tapering" of the stimulus may begin as soon as December. That weighed on stock markets, which had been buoyed by expectations the Fed wouldn't act until March at the earliest, largely because of the uncertainty created by the U.S. government showdown.

On Thursday, the ECB will be in focus, with investors wondering whether surprisingly low inflation figures may prompt policymakers to cut the bank's benchmark interest rate to a record low of 0.25 percent. The prevailing view is that the ECB will keep the rate unchanged at 0.5 percent but may hint at further action if need be.