The weakening of the dollar and the rise in Asian stocks indicate that the Federal Reserve’s tightening cycle may be coming to an end. This weakening trend is due to dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials, which have prompted speculation that the central bank is done with its interest-rate hikes, causing the US currency to weaken against all its peers in the Group of 10. This has also led to an increase in emerging-market currencies and a rise in Asian equities. The dollar’s pressure may continue due to a lower US yields, according to Brown Brothers Harriman & Co’s global head of currency strategy, Win Thin. Meanwhile, European Central Bank officials are set to speak and may provide insights into their rate-hiking cycle.
The currency market’s dovish narrative comes in light of Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr’s comments about the end of the tightening campaign. However, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly emphasized that policymakers aren’t certain inflation is on a path to their 2% target.
As traders are thinking about a potential Fed rate cut in March, Treasuries edged lower in Asia before a US 20-year auction. This event will determine if investors are confident about ending 2023’s selloff. European equity futures and their US peers also experienced minimal changes. In light of the dollar’s weakening, the offshore yuan strengthened, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average reached the highest level since 1990. Furthermore, the cryptocurrency market has shown a slight rise in Bitcoin and Ether prices.
The week ahead will involve key events such as multiple European Central Bank events, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey’s speech, and high-impact economic data like the US Conference Board leading index and Federal Reserve Nov. policy meeting minutes. Furthermore, investors are keen on the impact of the deepening rout at OpenAI and are watching the developments in Argentina, which may affect markets. Meanwhile, tech giants like Xiaomi Corp. and Nvidia Corp. are expected to release earnings this week.
The financial market’s main moves include US stocks like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures falling and the Euro Stoxx 50 futures remaining unchanged. Additionally, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has fallen slightly, and the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ether have shown a slight rise. In the bond market, the yield on 10-year Treasuries has increased, while Japan’s 10-year yield has declined, and Australia’s 10-year yield has advanced. As for the commodities market, oil prices have risen as investors look forward to the OPEC+ meeting on supply.
With assistance from Bloomberg Automation, this story was produced by Bloomberg L.P.
