Macroeconomic events and data releases shadowed latest developments of the Ukrainian war, as the ECB meeting and US CPI inflation centered stage in financial markets. On the latter, headline inflation rose as expected in February from 7.5% to 7.9% and core inflation rose from 6.0% to 6.4%.
Resultats de la cerca
In yesterday's session, investors' sentiment improved amid optimistic comments from Russian officials, which increased the odds of a diplomatic solution, and following the description of the outlook from Jerome Powell, who said the US economy is very strong and with an extremely tight labor market.
Investors traded with cautious optimism at the last session of the week, still hopeful a resolution in the Ukraine-Russia conflict could be possible. In addition, a meeting by US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping over the crisis in Ukraine ended without big surprises.
In the last session of the week, stock indices declined across the globe and sovereign yields edged lower amid continuing concerns over trade tensions between the U.S. and China and better-than-expected U.S. retail sales.
Investors kicked-off the week on a cautious note as they await the ECB's Governing Council meeting (on Thursday), widely expected to lower interest rates by 25bp, and US inflation figures for November (released on Wednesday), a key report for the Fed's decision next week.
Financial markets ended the week on a mixed note. In the US, November payrolls data showed that employment grew slightly more than expected (with October data revised upwards), but unemployment rose by 0.1% to 4.2% and wage growth accelerated slightly. Treasury yields fell and the probability of a -25bp cut by the Fed in December rose to 90%.
Euro area markets had a cautious session ahead of the no-confidence vote in France, approved late last night. Sovereign bond yields were mostly flat, and the region's main equity indices posted small gains. The euro was flat against its main peers, leaving its cross with the US dollar at 1.05.
Investors traded cautiously amid political tensions in France, where lawmakers are set to vote today on no-confidence motions. Euro area sovereign bond yields edged lower, and France's risk premium narrowed to 85bp after reaching 88bp in the previous session. The region's main stock indices advanced slightly, and the euro held steady at 1.05 against the dollar.
Stock indices rose across the globe after Draghi said in Sintra's conference that more stimulus will be necessary in case there is no improvement in the risks to the economic outlook.
In yesterday session, investors continued to digest the dovish tone set by the main central banks (ECB, BoE, BoJ and Fed). The expectation of monetary policy stimulus in the coming months pushed global stock indices up.
In yesterday's session, investors traded with optimism as they weighed the details on the phase-one trade deal with the weaker-than-expected business sentiment data in advanced economies.
A week-long losing streak in global stock markets ceased on Friday as better than expected earnings results outweighed a worsening of coronavirus cases in the US and Europe. In Europe, the Eurostoxx50 ended the session 1.7% higher despite new coronavirus retrictions in some cities, while the S&P 500 edged up very slightly.
In yesterday’s session investors traded cautiously as they awaited today’s release of September US employment report, which should give further signs for the future path of interest rates. Weekly US unemployment claims, released yesterday, ticked up modestly as expected and set the stage for today’s data.
In another session without major macroeconomic references, monetary policy took center stage. The Riksbank decided to reduce its official interest rate by 25 bp to 3.75%, the first cut since 2016, and ECB and Fed officials commented on their respective economic and monetary policy outlooks.
In yesterday’s session, investors paid attention to economic data in the US pointing to a further cool down in the labor market and to the BoE monetary policy meeting, where interest rates were kept unchanged at 5.25%, as expected.
Trading in global markets was subdued on Tuesday as US markets were closed due to a domestic holiday and there was little in the way of data releases to guide investors. The most notable of these was German exports, which fell -0.1% m/m in May, missing analysts’ expectations of a 0.3% rise.
US November CPI report came mostly in line with expectations: prices grew 0.1% MoM (vs. 0.0% expected) and 3.1% YoY (as expected) down from 3.2% in October, reinforcing the view the Fed will leave rates unchanged at its meeting today. The lack of surprises left markets rather muted, with treasury yields flat and stock indices slightly advancing.
Investors started the week trading cautiously in a session without major economic events. Central bank officials’ comments, then, took center stage with different FOMC members insisting that the latest inflation readings have not given them enough confidence to start cutting rates at this stage.
Investors continued digesting this week’s data releases in the US, including the CPI report, retail sales, and new data showing industrial production stalled in April after growing 0.1% in March. In the euro area, remarks from ECB officials including De Guindos, Centeno and De Cos, all pointed to June for an interest rate cut but asserted caution thereafter.
Investors' mood worsened yesterday amid increasing COVID-19 cases around the globe and worse-than-expected employment data in the US. In particular, initial jobless claims increased last week by 898k (+53k compared with the previous week), the highest level since August.