In yesterday's session, investors traded with an optimistic tone amid positive corporate results in the U.S. and dovish comments by central bank officials. In particular, ECB Olli Rehn, reiterated that the current spike in inflation is mostly temporary, although some factors pushing up inflation might be more persistent than initially thought.
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Positive session across markets, fuelled by optimism surrounding the trade agreement reached between the Trump administration and the UK government, which has helped ease tensions and is seen as a potential blueprint for ongoing negotiations with other countries. Additionally, the Bank of England cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.25%, citing increased uncertainty in the economic outlook. In contrast, Norges Bank and the Riksbank held rates steady at 4.5% and 2.25%, respectively.
Investors started the week in a mixed mood. US Treasuries rose modestly amid growing divisions within the FOMC, as Miran reiterated the need for aggressive rate cuts, citing what he described as tight financial conditions, while Goolsbee warned against easing prematurely given persistent inflation.
In yesterday's session investors traded cautiously amid expectations of a faster monetary policy tightening from the Fed. Implicit interest rates are discounting the first rate hike in the spring, earlier than previously expected. The inflation report to be released this Wednesday and the speech by the Fed head Powell in Congress today will be key.
Risk appetite remained relatively high in the market yesterday as US inflation figures for April came in slightly below expectations at 2.3% YoY, with core inflation holding at 2.8%. Separately, the NFIB survey showed that small business optimism fell moderately in April. Against this backdrop, US Treasury yields were broadly unchanged.
The US Federal Reserve’s meeting centered the stage in a risk-off session, also spurred by the escalation of Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. As expected, the central bank raised policy interest rates by 75 bp while President Jerome Powell said that interest rates will need to stay in restrictive territory for longer, as shown in the dot plot.
Investors kicked-off the week with a quiet session following last week's heavy-data week, which included US Q1 GDP and euro area inflation. This week, markets' attention will shift back to central meetings. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady in Wednesday, and the BoE is expected to deliver a 25bp rate cut on Thursday.
The risk-on mood triggered by trade negotiations continued to support markets but lost some steam in yesterday's session. Sovereign yields rose on the back of a hawkish reading of the ECB's meeting, while euro area and U.S. stocks posted moderate gains with a mixed sectorial performance (European banks rallied on favorable earnings and higher rates).
Global stocks rebounded and sovereign yields continued to decline as investors cemented their expectations for rate cuts ahead of the Fed's next week meeting. The USD weakened moderately across other major currencies and gold prices continued to surge.
Amidst elevated geopolitical risks, investors traded cautiously ahead of the FOMC's meeting. The Fed left rates unchanged and still forecasts two rate cuts in 2025 (showing greater dispersion and a slightly hawkish bias than before) but signalling a slower pace of easing ahead. Powell warned that tariffs could push inflation for goods higher over the summer.
In the first session of the week, investors' sentiment improved as sovereign interest rates declined in both sides of the Atlantic and amid better-than-expected corporate earnings releases in the US. Equity indices rose substantially across the board.
Investors' risk appetite rebounded slightly last week, a trend that largely continued into Friday's session. In the eurozone, government bond yields rose slightly, even though ECB's Holzmann, who had been advocating for a pause in rate cuts, acknowledged the disinflationary impact of tariffs and said the ECB's next rate decisions were "completely open".
Central banks continued to center the stage on Thursday. On the one hand, investors continued to digest the Fed meeting, where Chairman Powell signaled a “slower for higher” approach in interest rates hikes, and, on the other, the Bank of England’s decision to increase rates by 75bp, albeit diminishing market expectations for the path ahead.
Markets ended Friday mixed as Fed guidance revived rate-cut bets, tempering weak sentiment in Asia and Europe. Comments from Fed Williams suggesting December interest rate cuts could align with inflation goals boosted markets' expectations for such event and drove US Treasury yields slightly down.
Risk appetite deteriorated on Thursday. Sovereign yields fell in the US after a private report (the Challenger index) showed the US economy shed more jobs than expected in October, reportedly due to AI-driven layoffs. Legal uncertainty around Trump tariffs added pressure, as Supreme Court justices questioned their validity during an ongoing hearing. The move came despite Fed officials speaking on the day pushed back against rate cuts, citing inflation risks and the lack of official data.
As expected, the ECB kept interest rates unchanged (depo at 2%) and reinforced its meeting-by-meeting data-dependent strategy. Euro area sovereign yields edged higher, and equities had a mixed session across the region. On the macro front, euro area GDP grew 0.2% qoq in Q3 (1.3% yoy), up from 0.1% qoq in Q2.
US Treasury yields ended yesterday's session mostly flat after the large sell-off they suffered on Monday. The market-implied probability of a Fed rate cut next week continued to stand close to 100%. The Japanese 2Y yield topped 1% early this week, its highest value since 2008, on continued expectations of a rate hike in two weeks.
La economía mundial se adentra en 2026 con notables muestras de resiliencia tras la incertidumbre de 2025, pero también con grandes tendencias de fondo que plantean nuevos retos. Fenómenos como la geoeconomía de un mundo más fragmentado, el auge de la inteligencia artificial o la necesidad de acelerar la transición verde marcarán el paso del nuevo año. Al mismo tiempo, la deuda pública ha aumentado de forma generalizada en la última década y alcanza niveles históricos en muchas economías, lo que enciende alertas sobre la sostenibilidad fiscal y crea un dilema para Europa: retornar a la disciplina presupuestaria sin renunciar a inversiones estratégicas clave. En este nuevo episodio de Economía Exprés, Patricia Esteban conversa con el economista David Martínez Turégano para explicar con claridad estas cuestiones: qué nos depara 2026 en el plano económico global y cómo abordar el desafío de la deuda soberana. El resultado es un análisis divulgativo y riguroso que te ayudará a entender las claves económicas del nuevo año.
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As expected, the Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by 25bp to 3.50%–3.75%. Following the announcement, Treasury yields fell, U.S. equities advanced, and the dollar weakened, leaving EUR/USD trading near 1.17. After three consecutive rate cuts, the Fed signaled it will likely pause to assess how the economy evolves.
US President Trump announced a 90-day pause on the so-called “reciprocal" tariffs for all targeted countries, but still maintained the 10% general tariff rate and raised the tariff rate for China to 125% after both countries’ authorities escalated the tension. US stocks rallied and the S&P had its largest intraday gain in over 17 years (+9.5%).