5 Thinks to know in the market today

1. ECB might taper bond buying program
A Bloomberg report late on Tuesday said the European Central Bank reached an informal consensus to gradually wind down bond purchases before the conclusion of its €80 billion ($90 billion) monthly bond buying program in March. According to the report, the ECB may do so in steps of €10 billion ($11.2 billion) a month, citing unnamed sources.

2. Sterling drops below $1.27 for first time in 31 years
The British pound slipped to its lowest level since 1985 against the dollar, with fears of a 'hard' Brexit also pushing the currency to a five-year trough against a broadly stronger euro.
GBP/USD fell to 1.2686 at one point, before recovering to 1.2717, roughly flat on the day. Against the euro, sterling fell to 0.8843, a level not seen since August 2011.

3. Global stocks drop on ECB taper talk, U.S. data in focus
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a marginally lower open on Wednesday morning, as market players looked ahead to more U.S. economic data for clues on the likelihood of a December rate hike.
The U.S. is due to release the ADP jobs report for September at 8:15AM ET (12:15GMT). At 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT), the U.S. Institute of Supply Management is to publish its index of non-manufacturing activity for September.

4. Oil rallies to 4-month highs ahead of U.S. stockpile data
Oil prices rallied to the highest level since June on Wednesday, as market players awaited fresh weekly information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report on oil supplies at 10:30AM ET (14:30GMT) Wednesday, amid analyst expectations for an increase of 2.56 million barrels.

5. Gold bounces back from 3-1/2-month lows
Gold prices inched up on Wednesday, bouncing off a three-and-a-half-month low as the U.S. dollar eased off two-month highs and global stocks fell.