US stocks move off daily highs, as crude oil retreats

Equity prices in Wall Street moved off daily highs during the last hours as crude oil changed its trend. The Dow Jones was up by 45 points or 0.25% at 18,167  (earlier it peaked at 18,250) while the Nasdaq was rising only 0.05%.

Crude oil boosted equity prices at the beginning of the US session when the WTI barrel reached levels on top of $44.00 and then it dropped to $43.60, still gaining more than 1% for the day. Traders continue to focus on the FOMC meeting. The decision of the Federal Reserve will be announced on Wednesday. Earlier that day the Bank of Japan will also decide on monetary policy.

In Europe, markets finished with strong gains. Germany's DAX gained 0.95%, UK's FTSE 100 index climbed 1.55%  while the French CAC 40 rose 1.42%. In the forex market, the  US Dollar Index was falling 0.21%. Commodity currencies were the best performers while EUR/USD  was rising modestly, but limited by 1.1200. The Mexican peso again was falling in the market but USD/MXN  remained below Friday’s record highs.