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Financial markets ended the week in a risk-off mode despite Friday's inflation data showing that disinflation is progressing on both sides of the Atlantic: US core PCE came in at 2.6% YoY, as expected; and in the eurozone the HCPI prints for Spain, France and Italy were also broadly in line with expectations at 3.5% YoY, 2.5% YoY, and 0.9% YoY, respectively.

Markets were mixed in yesterday's session as investors digested a raft of economic data, including the final revision of US Q1 GDP growth, which confirmed the economy grew at SAAR 1.4% qoq, but showed private consumption grew by less than first estimated. On the labor market, weekly initial jobless claims dropped.

In yesterday's session, euro area sovereign bond yields advanced, with a slight widening of peripheral spreads, while equities retreated amid weak sentiment. Consumer confidence indices in both Germany and France fell from their May readings. Several remarks from ECB officials including Lane and Schnabel reiterated the ECB's data-dependent strategy.

Without any major macroeconomic news to trade on, sovereign bond markets had a relatively quiet session yesterday with only minor price changes: yields edged down in the euro area, but rose in the US. Equities were mixed, posting gains in the US boosted by tech mega-caps, while European indices declined as sentiment remained weak.

Investors kicked off the week with a somewhat quiet session as they await key inflation data later this week: June CPI for France, Spain and Italy; and the US PCE deflator, the Fed's preferred inflation measure.

The week ended with investors in a risk off mode in the financial markets. In the eurozone, PMI data for France and Germany came in below expectations and below last month's levels, while in the US the index rose slightly from May.

Yesterday's session provided some mixed signals on investor sentiment. Government bond yields rose slightly on both sides of the Atlantic, with peripheral eurozone spreads narrowing. This was partly explained yesterday's auction of French sovereign bonds, which despite recent volatility were in high demand from investors.

A quiet session on Wednesday as US markets were closed for the Juneteenth holiday. In the eurozone, government bond yields rose and peripheral spreads widened after the European Commission opened an excessive deficit procedure for France, Italy, Belgium and five other member states under the 2024 European Semester Spring Package.

Tuesday saw a risk-on mood in financial markets. In the US, retail sales data for May barely grew and showed a weaker than expected consumer, supporting hopes for interest rate cuts this year. Fed officials commenting during the day also highlighted good progress on disinflation, pushing Treasury yields lower and equities slightly higher.

The week started on a mixed note for financial markets. Eurozone government bond yields rose across the board, with peripheral spreads narrowing in stark contrast to French spreads, which widened again. However, equity performance was more mixed across the region, with French indices rising on comments from Le Pen’s party on their respect for institutions.

Eurozone investors closed last week by reducing their risk exposure as the chances of a new French parliament willing to increase the country's budget deficit increased. This pushed eurozone government bond yields lower, although spreads widened, particularly on French bonds. Equity indices also fell across the board.

Thursday’s session saw a mixed performance across assets as investors grappled with a mixed bag of economic data and the latest Fed decision. In the US, Treasury yields were lower after the rise in initial jobless claims and the decline in the Producer Price Index raised investors’ expectations of a Fed rate cut in September.

Investors’ risk appetite increased yesterday after US CPI data for May showed encouraging results in the disinflation process. Government bond yields fell sharply on the news on both sides of the Atlantic, although the gains were somewhat reversed later in the day as the Fed held rates steady and reduced its forecast for rate cuts in 2024 from 3 to 1.

Investor sentiment was mixed on Thursday. In the eurozone, political uncertainty following the upcoming snap elections in France, with Moody’s even issuing a credit rating warning on the country, weighed on equities, with French banks suffering the most.

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.

uIn yesterday's session, investors weighed a higher-than-expected US Producer's Price Index for April and comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell, who remarked it is unlikely that the Fed will need to raise interest rates any further, despite having lower confidence that the 2% inflation target will be achieved soon.

Yesterday’s session was filled with macro data releases. US CPI cooled from 3.5% yoy in March to 3.4% in April (+0.3% m/m), as expected by consensus, and the core index dropped from 3.8% yoy to 3.6% (+0.3% m/m), suggesting inflation resumed its downward trend. US April retail sales were unchanged from the previous month vs +0.4% expected.

In yesterday’s session investors traded cautiously ahead of tomorrow’s release of US April inflation data, which will be key for the Federal Reserve’s policy decisions. In this context, sovereign bond yields were mostly unchanged on both sides of the Atlantic, while equities were flat in the US and modestly lower in the euro area.

In absence of key macroeconomic data releases, central bank communication continued to be the main driver for financial markets. Yesterday, divergent views on inflation and the interest rate path ahead on both sides of the Atlantic were made even more evident.

In yesterday’s session, investors focused their attention to the release of the last FOMC meeting minutes, which reinforced previous communication that Fed members still expect inflation to return to 2% over the medium term, while acknowledging that it will take longer than previously anticipated.