Investors’ concerns over economic growth outlook ahead, and the decrease in the probability of an additional interest rate hike from the US Federal Reserve this year were the main drivers in yesterday’s session.
Search results
In the first session of the week, investors traded with a risk-off mood amid the escalation of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the macroeconomic front there were no relevant data releases.
In yesterday’s session, economic sentiment data releases were the focus of investors’ attention. In both Europe and the US, better-than-expected, but still weak economic data, pushed sovereign yields down on both sides of the Atlantic amid an upward trend in previous sessions.
Investor sentiment diverged slightly on both sides of the Atlantic at the start of the week. In the US, the ISM survey showed a manufacturing sector close to recovery while Fed's Bowman gave hawkish signals on future interest rates. This pushed Treasury yields higher while equities fared slightly better, with the Nasdaq up and the S&P500 flat.
Investors traded with a slightly higher risk appetite on Friday as several key inflation data points on both sides of the Atlantic fell and despite the risk of a US government shutdown, which was eventually averted over the weekend, rose. Eurozone inflation fell to a 2-year low, with core CPI showing positive momentum and US core PCE also moderating.
In yesterday’s session, investors traded cautiously as they awaited key economic data later this week (US CPI inflation) and the ECB monetary policy decision on Thursday. The main economic event yesterday was the downward revision of the European Commission’s summer GDP forecasts.
Eurozone sovereign bond yields remained broadly flat In Thursday's session as investors awaited the Jackson Hole meeting, which started last night with mixed comments from ECB officials. Centeno advised caution on further hikes, as downside risks for the economy are materializing, while Nagel said it's 'much too early' for a pause.
In the last session of the week, investors digested the central bank presidents’ speeches at the awaited Jackson Hole conference. There, Jerome Powell said that the US Federal Reserve will proceed carefully in the coming months and that monetary policy will remain restrictive for longer, hinting at a possible pause in the September meeting.
In yesterday's session, weaker-than-expected US economic data led investors to lower their expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate hikes at upcoming meetings.
In yesterday's session, economic data releases continued to center the stage. In the US, Q2 GDP figures were revised downwards from 2.4% q/q SAAR to 2.1%, while, in the euro area, country members' inflation figures failed to prove a decisive trend towards the 2%. Euro area aggregate data will be released today.
Investors ended the week digesting a raft of month-end economic data on both sides of the Atlantic. In the Eurozone, Thursday's release of August inflation figures, which showed headline inflation stable at 5.3%, sent sovereign bond yields higher and major stock indices lower on Friday, despite an encouraging slowdown in core inflation.
Yesterday’s session saw thin trading volumes in the market due to a holiday in the US. Chinese stocks ended higher, as authorities stepped up efforts to support a struggling property sector. The Shanghai CSI 300 index was up 1.4%, led by strong gains in developer companies, and drove stocks up all across Asia.
Sovereign bond yields rose across Europe yesterday after an ECB survey showed consumer expectations for inflation edged up, which could pressure the ECB for further rate hikes. Inflation concerns were also stoked by Brent crude oil reaching a new year high after Saudi Arabia and Russia announced an extension of supply curbs through year's end.
Risk-off appetite prevailed among investors yesterday. In the eurozone, a raft of negative data releases weighed on stocks, as both retail trade across the region and German factory orders surprised on the downside.
Yesterday’s session saw subdued trading volumes and a risk-off sentiment. In the Eurozone, the downward revision of Q2 GDP growth figures prompted sovereign bond yields to fall. Renewed signs of industrial weakness in Germany stoked concerns of economic malaise and pushed down stocks as well.
Investors ended the week on a cautious note: trading volumes were light and most asset prices were little changed. Sovereign bond yields were largely unchanged in the eurozone, while rising slightly in the US despite most Fed officials who spoke in recent weeks tended to lean towards a pause in the hiking cycle at the September meeting.
Yesterday’s session saw global equity markets mostly lower and government bond yields rising as investors continued to digest the “higher for longer” interest rate narrative and some weaker than expected US economic data releases.
Financial markets ended the week giving mixed signals from both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, flash PMI data for September showed a slight improvement in business activity, albeit still signalling economic contraction amid a weak German manufacturing sector, pushing up government bond yields and dragging most equity indices lower.