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In yesterday's session, investors traded with an optimistic mood as they digested the Fed's decision to initiate the tapering of net asset purchases this month and the dovish confirmation that it will keep its policy interest rates unchanged for the foreseeable future.

The upside surprise in the US CPI figure for May led to a sell-off session on Friday as investors reinforced their bets for additional 50bp interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve beyond the June and July meetings. Headline inflation accelerated to 8.6% y/y while core inflation ticked down to 6.0%.

In yesterday’s session, investors had to weigh mixed economic data indicators, as flash PMIs showed how the manufacturing sector in the euro area weakened slightly in March, deep below the 50-points threshold, while the services index managed to increase (52.9 for the euro area).

In yesterday’s session, the ECB announcements centered the stage, with a 50bp hike that pushed interest rates off the negative territory and the unveiling of the Transmission Protection Instrument (TPI).

Financial markets ended the week on a positive note, supported by stronger-than-expected employment data in the US (non-farm payrolls rose by 531k in October while the jobless rate edged down by 0.2 p.p. to 4.6%) and the approval by lawmakers in Washington of the $1.2tn infrastructure spending bill.

International investors remained cautious with no further progress in equity markets and stability for the sovereign yields after the geopolitical tensions intensified again at the beginning of the week.

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.

Investors traded under a cautiously optimistic mood on Tuesday, waiting for the outcome of the Federal Reserve meeting to be announced today. Consensus expectations look for a 50 bp hike in the policy rate as well as details of the plan to reduce the central bank’s balance sheet.

In line with expectations, the Federal Reserve raised its policy rate by 50 bp to the 0.75-1.00% range and confirmed a plan to reduce the size of its balance sheet (with a monthly cap of $95 billion). The Fed chair Powell noted that the recovery could withstand tighter monetary policy but also ruled out more aggressive rate hikes of 75 bp.

Market sentiment improved during yesterday’s session as investors turned their attention away from political instability in the euro area to monetary policy in the US. On his second day in Congress, Fed Chairman Powell said the Fed doesn’t need inflation below 2% before cutting interest rates and signaled the balance sheet run-off still has “ways to go”.

Investors ended the week focused on the US employment report for June, which signaled the labor market is cooling as job creation slowed and the unemployment rate ticked up from 4.0% to 4.1%. This boosted expectations for two rate cuts this year, which sent Treasury yields lower and stocks higher, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hitting new record highs.

The week began with eurozone investors digesting the results of the French parliamentary elections, in which Le Pen's RN did slightly worse than polls had predicted. Eurozone peripheral spreads tightened, although government bond yields rose as Lagarde said in Sintra that the ECB was in no hurry to cut rates further.

The week ended with markets trading without a clear direction as investors continued to monitor central bank officials' speeches to adjust their expectations of the timing of the first interest rate cuts, and as they awaited key economic data to be released this week. 

Volatility continued to dominate across financial markets at the start of the week, fueled by mounting concerns about the health of the global economic recovery, after the release of weaker-than-expected monthly economic indicators for April in China on Monday.

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.

Markets tilted towards a risk-off mood in a session dominated by U.S. news. U.S., German and other core sovereign yields declined, euro area peripheral spreads widened, safe-haven currencies (such as the CHF and the JPY) appreciated against the USD (while the euro was roughly stable), and stocks exhibited a poor performance globally.

Yesterday investors focused their attention on the ECB meeting, which delivered no surprises, and on a report that suggested that Joe Biden's Administration would increase the capital gains rate to finance social spending. In the US, this latter driver increased volatility in stock markets and the main indices declined.

Sovereign bond yields fell for a second consecutive day on both sides of the Atlantic as softer-than-expected job openings data in the US reinforced expectations the Fed will lower rates this year. In the euro area, markets await the ECB tomorrow, which is widely expected to lower interest rates by 25 bp.

Improving prospects of a de-escalation in the Middle East supported risk sentiment, with reports suggesting both the US and Iran may be open to ending the conflict. Sovereign yields fell for a second straight session, as inflation concerns eased, while equities moved higher, led by a strong rally in the US (the S&P 500 saw its largest daily gain since May).

Yesterday’s session saw increased risk appetite in the euro area following dovish comments from the ECB’s Villeroy, who did not rule out two consecutive interest rate cuts in June and July and sees ample space to lower rates from the current 4% policy level. He also remarked that the Fed’s policy should not affect the ECB’s.