Nikhil Kumar

All economists polled by International Business Times expect the Federal Reserve to leave interest rates unchanged and signal an easing bias at its upcoming meeting.

The tech sector is in for a negative surprise as Wall Street gives a cold reception to IPOs from some of the much-awaited big-brand names, Carlos Dominguez from Element Pointe Advisors told International Business Times.

Better than expected economic data gives the Fed some leeway on recasting its monetary policy but economists expect the central bank to watch for domestic and global cues before making any changes.

Stephen Foreman at Oxford Economics expects the Boeing production cuts to cause an output contraction of just 0.4 percent in the U.S. aerospace products and parts industry in 2019.

The S&P 500 may see a profit slowdown, its first in nearly 3 years, but a modestly encouraging economic outlook will cushion the blow, Lydia Boussour, senior U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, said.

Senior economist Boris Glass said the U.K. economy has foregone economic activity of £6.6 billion in each of the 10 quarters since the 2016 referendum.

Post-Brexit changes in import arrangements will make some grocery items expensive at local stores and make some disappear from shelves, an ING analyst has said.

Analysts tell International Business Times that Trump wants to avoid the embarrassment of another failure in high-stake talks.

Tim McCusker, the chief investment officer at NEPC, told International Business Times that China’s bets on AI make for attractive investment opportunities.

Chief investment strategist Yung-Yu Ma, who is bullish on mid-caps, also sees better risk-reward tradeoffs in U.S. and Chinese equity markets.

The U.S. and China are expected to strike a trade deal in April that will benefit agricultural commodities such as corn and sorghum, Terry Reilly told International Business Times.

The Fed is expected to remain “patient” and hold the rates Wednesday but more than half of the 31 analysts polled, still expect the central bank to hike rates once this year.

The fears over tightening credit supply are overblown, but it is also a reason for the Fed to pause its policy, the head of U.S. financial markets at Oxford Economics said.

Slower U.S. growth expectations and the Federal Reserve’s more gradual approach towards interest rate hikes will weigh on the U.S. dollar in the second half of the year, analysts said in a poll conducted by International Business Times.

The labor department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 199,000 for the week ended Jan. 19 -- the lowest since mid-November in 1969.

The direct and indirect economic effects will become meaningful if the shutdown continues, and the market’s benign assessment will have a downward risk, economists tell International Business Times.

The U.S. economy will be more resilient than other major global economies as it benefits from fiscal stimulus measures of the previous year, Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at IHS Markit, has said.

Analysts expect the stock markets to continue to be volatile this year and see 2,600 as a key resistance level for the S&P 500 index.

Majority analysts polled by International Business Times expected a rate hike in the December meeting, but saw the Fed cutting back on the number of rate hikes next year.

Cautious home buyers, rising interest rates, tax law changes and a mountain of student loan debt are holding back the housing market. But analysts told the International Business Times that there is no bubble building up, unlike in 2008.

Bitcoin’s roller-coaster ride this year may not have ended with its dramatic crash in November and the cryptocurrency is likely heading for another round of punishment, analysts told International Business Times.

Gold’s bearish trend will continue into the first quarter of 2019 as a stronger dollar and trade tensions weigh, analyst Robert Zukowski of Continuum Economics said.

As Democrats are widely expected to take the House, analysts said history shows it is not a bad thing for the markets.

Analysts told International Business Times that markets will reflect an expected slowdown in global growth next year.

Analysts revised upward their WTI and Brent crude forecasts for the fourth quarter of 2018, as concerns over Iran’s supply and lack of action by OPEC continue to lend support.

Analysts who spoke to International Business Times thought the deal gave the best possible outcome for Canada but offered little to the United States.

Despite the political pressure to spend on election promises, which has fueled talks of an ‘Italexit,’ the heavy economic costs of such a move will deter Italy’s politicians from walking out of the EU.

All economists polled by International Business Times expect the U.S. Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark Fed Funds Rate by 25 basis points to 2.0-2.25 percent.

Copper prices are expected to bounce back as demand in China stays firm and the surplus supply in the market is cleared, analysts say.