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Financial markets recorded a risk-on session, after the US Federal Reserve delivered a more hawkish strategy against the risk of elevated inflationary pressures.

In yesterday's session investors continued to trade with a risk-on mood but with more caution amid rising Covid-19 cases across advanced economies. In addition, some ECB members offered comments with a hawkish tone, opening the door even to a rate hike in 2022 if inflation were to increase further.

During a volatile session, financial markets ended the day with further losses, as investors digested the more hawkish tone in the minutes of the December Fed meeting, which hinted at the possibility that policy interest rates could be raised “sooner or at a faster pace” than officials had initially anticipated.

In the last session of the week, investors continued to digest the hawkish messages of the minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting as well as relevant economic data releases. In the US, non-farm payrolls increased in December by 199k (consensus expected +400k) and the unemployment rate declined by 0.3 pp to 3.9%.

Investors traded cautiously on Wednesday, digesting the December inflation print in the US, which showed headline inflation rising to 7.0%, highest since June 1982, and core inflation increasing by 0.6 pp to 5.5% yoy. Even if in line with consensus expectations, these figures add pressure to the Fed to start hiking interest rates as soon as in March.

Financial markets recorded a positive start of the week, supported by the better-than-expected Q4 GDP print in China (4% y/y) and positive expectations for the corporate earnings season later this week.

Another volatile session with mixed results on Thursday, with the focus still on the potential impact of tighter monetary policy on rate-sensitive sectors. Investors are also monitoring the Q4 earnings results.

Financial markets started the week with a risk-on session, as investors shifted their focus to corporate earnings and economic indicators, taking a breath from the prospect of monetary policy tightening by the major central banks.

Investors continued to trade with a positive mood on Tuesday, with solid corporate earnings reports outweighing hawkish signals from central bankers and higher-than-expected inflation prints.

In the last session of the week investors focused on the increasing bets for a tightening of monetary policy across advanced economies and the better-than-expected corporate earnings releases.

Investors started the week trading with caution as they continued to digest the positive figures of the January's employment report in the US and took positions ahead of Thursday's release of CPI inflation. In the euro area, ECB comments moderated financial markets expectations for a big monetary policy tightening.

In yesterday's session, investors' sentiment remained cautiously optimistic, with the focus still on the pace of monetary policy tightening in advanced economies, corporate results (in the US, 76% of the companies that have released their profits have beaten consensus estimates) and geopolitical developments.

In yesterday's session investors' sentiment continued to improve moderately amid mixed comments by Federal Reserve and ECB members. In the US, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said that she expects inflation to ease during the course of 2022, as the Fed tightens credit conditions.

A cautious approach was retaken by investors on Wednesday, driven by uncertainty on the geopolitical risk involving Ukraine and the exit strategy of major central banks in advanced economies. These headwinds more than offset better-than-expected data for January in the US (+3.8% m/m for retail sales and 1.4% for industrial production).

In yesterday’s session, investor sentiment improved and preference for riskier assets rose ahead of today’s meeting in Turkey between Ukraine and Russia foreign ministers. In addition, a Ukraine top foreign policy aide insisted that Ukraine is ready for a diplomatic solution. Brent and European gas prices moderated.

In the first session of the week, investors remained concerned about the developments in Ukraine and mounting inflationary pressures in advanced economies. Their expectation for a tighter monetary policy from the ECB and the Federal Reserve pushed interest rates up.

In yesterday’s session investors' sentiment improved modestly ahead of today's Federal Reserve meeting, where we expect interest rates to be hiked by 0.25pp. Oil prices declined after lockdowns in China were announced, since that might dampen oil demand, and the barrel of Brent fluctuated below $100.

Investors traded with a risk-on sentiment on Tuesday, still waiting for more information about the ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine and digesting hawkish signals from central bankers, with various Fed officials supporting a more aggressive normalization of policy interest rates.

Investors ended the week with mixed results, balancing out a solid employment report in the US (payrolls rose by 431.000 in March and the jobless rate fell to 3.6%) with upside surprises in inflation in the eurozone (HICP went up by 7.5% y/y in March). Ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine also remained in focus.

Sentiment deteriorated across financial markets on Wednesday, as investors digested the hawkish narrative in the accounts of the Fed’s latest meeting and the likely new imposition of sanctions against Russia.