Japan may look to take further steps to curb the virus spread
This comes after state of emergency measures were announced for four other prefectures (Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Osaka) and the one in Tokyo being extended through to 31 August earlier today . A snapshot of the cases in Japan:

European stocks lower but still poised for a decent month
European indices are holding lower by around 0.4% to 0.8% mostly on the session, as equities are still seeing a slight retreat towards the end of the week/month.

EUR/USD moves up to just above 1.1900
The pair is up to its highest level since 30 June as buyers are trying to make it five consecutive days of gains now, pushing a little higher with euro area Q2 GDP data more upbeat on the balance of things today.

Latest data released by Destatis – 30 July 2021
– -0.3%
– GDP +13.7% y/y
– Prior -1.3%
A solid beat sees the euro area economy bounce back after a more subdued Q1, helped by looser virus restrictions in general. Demand conditions returned strongly and was a key contributor to the rebound in economic activity.

Latest data released by Destatis – 29 July 2021
here
On the month itself, inflation jumped up by another 0.9% with HICP inflation increasing by 0.5% on the month as well. That reaffirms stronger price pressures in general, adding to base effects, and will certainly pose a bit of a headache to the ECB – not only

Forex news from the European trading session – 29 July 2021
Headlines:
Markets:
– NZD leads, USD lags on the day
– European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.1%

ECB releases the account of its strategy review meeting in July

Equities keep the faith post-FOMC, at least for now
European indices are trading up on the day, holding gains around 0.5% to 1.0%, with the Stoxx 600 index holding at record highs in European morning trade.

NHK reports on the matter
Also, to declare state of emergency in four other prefectures – that likely being the three neighbouring Tokyo and Osaka. This rebuffs the reports from throughout the week, with the formal announcement set to be for tomorrow.

What to expect from the FOMC meeting decision later today?
No changes in terms of policy is expected, so without the accompaniment of updated projections i.e. the infamous „dot plots“ among them, today’s meeting decision will be all about scrutinising the language and the words offered up by Powell.