(Bloomberg) — Investors await clues on interest rates from central bank officials including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, resulting in lower stock prices.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 and US equity futures are slightly down, while the 10-year Treasury yields have climbed. West Texas Intermediate is holding near $77 and Marks & Spencer Group Plc saw a 10% surge in profit and reinstated a dividend.
Traders are analyzing how aggressively global central bankers will push back against the decline in government bond yields, hindering efforts to control inflation. Today, there are statements expected from US policymakers, Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and officials from the European Central Bank.
“Fed speakers will try to cool market expectations for rate cuts,” said Todd Schubert, Dubai-based senior fixed-income strategist at Bank of Singapore. He believes the market is underestimating the Fed’s determination to bring down inflation to 2% and for risk assets to rally, there must be clear evidence of inflation decreasing.
Fed Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said policymakers must continue to fight against inflation. HSBC Holdings Plc strategists believe if the Fed changes its monetary policy, global equities could rally double-digit in 2024.
In Asia, Japan’s Topix dropped due to falling bond yields, while Chinese equities may see gains with the possible upcoming US-China leaders’ meeting.
Upcoming events this week include Eurozone retail sales, Germany CPI, talks from central bank officials, and the US University of Michigan consumer sentiment report.
Market moves include falls in stocks and indices, rise and fall in currencies, and a slight decline in cryptocurrencies. The story was produced with the help of Bloomberg Automation and the assistance of Sharon Cho and Winnie Hsu. This content is part of Bloomberg Businessweek and is ©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
