Equity markets are being given a serious cash of whiplash with the latest blow coming from the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes which were released yesterday and which offered no hints about the prospect of additional easing. That is in marked contrast to recent commentary from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke but more or less in line with his earlier comments. Markets are clearly confounded by the Fed official’s on again, off again QE3 rhetoric; the VIX, which gauges market fears, closed higher above 15. On Wall Street, the DJ30 closed nearly 65 points lower, a loss of 0.49% on the day but well off the session low. Similarly, the SPX500 was lower by more than 5 points or 0.40% while the NSDQ100 finished at 3113.57, a 0.20% . Read more
