Lagarde's debut not seen rocking the boat -...>

FOREX: Lagarde's debut not seen rocking the boat

- Markets are relatively sanguine so far, with USD picking itself up after

yesterday's (slightly dovish) FOMC decision. On the other hand, GBP looks

slightly softer as polling opens for the election, with results due from around

2230GMT onwards. The move in GBP matches a profit-taking pattern at present,

although markets may be getting slightly jumpy on anecdotal social media reports

of a high turnout. Wednesday's lows of $1.3108 are still comfortably far away

however, with bookie's odds still favouring a Conservative majority.

-Core European equities are broadly higher following the Fed, helping keep a lid

on JPY which looks happy to return to yesterday's highs in USD/JPY. A speech

from BoC's Poloz may also garner some focus later today, as he presents the

Bank's 2020 outlook.

- The ECB decision takes focus from here, with today's meeting marking the first

of Lagarde's tenure as the ECB President. The bank are seen keeping policy

unchanged in a relatively smooth handover from Draghi's last appearance. The US

PPI numbers for November and weekly jobless claims are also due.