The S&P 500 Index closed at another record high as investors looked to a highly anticipated second-quarter earnings season, which will start today with Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and PepsiCo Inc. European equities hit a record high with investors rotating out of cyclical sectors and into more defensive.
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Investors turned their attention to the start of second-quarter earnings season and to inflation concerns in the US, after the consumer price index jumped to 5.4% yoy in June (4.5% yoy the core index). This level is the higher seen since 2008 and fuels speculation that the Federal Reserve will begin curbing asset purchases soon.
Jerome Powell maintained his view that strong inflation will be temporary and said that the US economy was still far from levels the central bank wanted to see before tapering its monetary support.
Treasury yields fell as Federal Reserve Chairman Powell testified before Congress that rising inflation is likely to be transitory and that the central bank would continue to support the economy. The Bank of Japan left its 10-year bond yield target unchanged at about 0% after concluding its meeting and also kept the policy-balance rate at -0.1%.
Last Friday, investors' sentiment worsened amid rising COVID-19 cases, now more contagious with the Delta variant.
In the first session of the week, investors traded with a risk-off mood amid rising COVID-19 cases and concerns that the Delta variant might delay the economic recovery. Demand for safe haven assets (such as US Treasuries, the Swiss Franc or the Japanese Yen) increased.
In yesterday's session, investors' sentiment improved and recovered from Monday’s lows amid upbeat corporate results. Stock indices in the euro area and in the US rose as traders bought the dip (the S&P 500 registered its biggest daily increase since March).
Yesterday investors paused their concerns on the evolution of the pandemic and traded with an optimistic mood amid better-than-expected corporate results. Since the start of the earnings season, more than 85% of the S&P 500 companies that have released results have beaten analysts’ expectations.
Markets traded in a cautious mood in yesterday's session. Stocks were mixed across advanced and emerging economies while in FX markets the USD strengthened against the major currencies. In commodity markets, prices were little changed.
Markets ended the week on a negative mood, following the release of weaker than expected employment data in the US (non-farm payrolls rose by 235k in August after 1,053k in July). The disappointing figures could well postpone a decision by the Fed to taper its asset purchases for later this year.
Financial markets recorded a positive start of the week, as investors increased the likelihood that the Fed will postpone the decision about when to start tapering its asset purchases.
Financial markets ended the day with mixed results, as investors balanced fears about lingering supply constraints and pandemic-related risks with expectations that monetary policy will remain accommodative.
In yesterday’s session, investors continued to trade with a risk aversion mood, extending recent losses across the main equity markets. In its Beige Book, the Fed noted that economic growth is downshifting due to the spread of the Delta variant, while several Asian countries are extending restrictions to control the outbreak.
Financial markets ended the day with mixed results, as investors digested a decision by the ECB to scale down its asset purchases and, separately, hawkish comments by some Fed officials about the likely start of tapering this year. These fears outweighed positive labour data in the US (new jobless claims fell to 310k last week, a pandemic-era low).
Investors ended the week in a mixed mood. Volatility jumped and stock markets declined across many advanced economies. In contrast, EM equities posted moderate gains.
Markets started the week on a moderately positive note. In a session with no major economic releases, volatility declined, stocks rose moderately across advanced economies, and EM equities were mixed.
Yesterday's FOMC meeting was received without major surprises by financial markets. The Fed announced, as broadly expected, that the tapering on asset purchases would start soon if economic indicators come in as expected and that net asset purchases would finish by mid-2022.
In yesterday’s session, investors’ sentiment improved as concerns on Chinese Evergrande’s fallout eased.
Financial markets started the week with a risk-off session fuelled by concerns that Evergrande, a giant property developer in China, is facing a liquidity crisis and might not be able to service its debt repayments.
Markets ended the week in a mixed mood as investors pondered over the Fed's plans for stimuli withdrawal, risks from China's Evergrande and the announcement that Chinese authorities will ban all transactions and mining related to cryptocurrencies. Global stocks declined or closed flat while the USD rose against most AE and EM currencies.