Investor sentiment diverged on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday. In the Eurozone, government bond yields were mixed, with French spreads widening after the European Commission endorsed the French draft budget for 2025, which aims to reduce public deficit from 6.1% of GDP to 5%. The budget has yet to be approved in parliament amid a political stalemate.
Resultados de la búsqueda
Political tensions in France took center stage during yesterday's session after far-right and far-left parties submitted no-confidence motions against Prime Minister Barnier, risking the collapse of the current government. French government yields rose, its risk premium widened further, and the euro sold-off to 1.05 against the dollar.
Financial markets' tone improved for the second day in a row on the back of previous Fed comments saying that it would support the economy in case the scenario worsens, mixed economic data releases and brighter investor expectations on trade tensions between Mexico and the U.S.
Comments by central bankers centered the stage at the start of the week in a session with no relevant economic data releases. In the euro area Christine Lagarde reiterated that a rate hike in 2022 is "very unlikely" even if the current inflation spike might be higher and longer than initially expected.
Investors traded cautiously ahead of today's FOMC decision (a 25bp interest rate cut is widely discounted) and the BoE on Thursday (expected to hold interest rates at 4.75%). On the macro data front, US retail sales rose 0.6% m/m in November, and in Germany, the IFO expectations index surprised to the downside as confidence in the country continued to weaken.
In yesterday's session, investors traded cautiously ahead of today's U.S. CPI data for May (Bloomberg consensus expects +4.7% yoy) and the ECB monetary policy meeting (the focus will be on the updated macro projections and on the pace of net asset purchases under the PEPP, which will probably remain unchanged at 80bn per month).
In the last session of the week, investors traded cautiously amid ongoing talks between Russian and Ukrainian authorities, although during the weekend Russia intensified aerial attacks on the western part of Ukraine. This week talks are expected to continue between both countries and officials from China and the US will also hold a meeting.
With U.S. markets closed for the Memorial Day holiday, European stocks advanced moderately at the start of the week as investors digested the results of the weekend's European Parliament election.
In yesterday's volatile session, investors remained concerned about the implications the Russian-Ukrainian conflict can have on economic activity and inflation. Nevertheless, rumors that the EU is discussing a plan to increase the joint issuance of bonds benefited risk perception in Europe.
Investor's remained cautious yesterday as they await for more clues on the upcoming macroeconomic and political outlook. In the U.S., results from technological companies surprised to the upside, while the industrial sector suffered from concerns about economic growth.
Friday's session was mixed as investors continued to weigh tariff uncertainty, monetary policy decisions and the Fed's updated macro forecasts. Sovereign bond yields edged lower on both sides of the Atlantic, while stock markets registered losses in the euro area and Asia, and barely advanced in the US. The dollar was mostly flat.
Stock indices were mixed as financial markets digested the downward revision of global growth forecasts from the OECD and the downbeat economic releases in the US (2018's trade deficit, the largest since 2008, and ADP employment report slightly below consensus).
Markets ended the week with a risk-off sentiment, driven by hawkish commentary by some Fed officials about the potential need to readjust policy to deal with the rebound in inflation. In contrast, ECB president Christine Lagarde reiterated prices will stabilize in the euro area in line with the central bank's target.
Most of the developed stock markets kept registering small gains yesterday while yields on sovereign bonds picked up. In the U.S., the yield on the 10-year Treasury increased by 7 basis points and reached 2.55% for the first time in more than 9 months.
Markets traded cautiously yesterday, ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy rate decision today. US Treasury yields were almost flat, as markets expect Fed's policy rate to stay at its current level. On the other side of the Atlantic, euro area sovereign yields were flat, as the German Bundestag approved a fiscal package to boost defence spending, as expected.
The military operations of Russia in Ukraine centered the stage in yesterday’s session and investors traded on a risk-off mood. Stock indices declined in the euro area, Asia and Latin America, while US equities rose, as they already declined in the previous session. Russian equities fell by almost 50%.
In the last session of the week, financial markets' sentiment was dominated by optimism as investors read positively the latest U.S. labour market data and the comments of Fed President, Jerome Powell, suggesting a more flexible pace of the upcoming interest rate hikes.
During yesterday's session, Government bond yields fell on both sides of the Atlantic ahead of several central bank meetings this week. The ECB meets on Thursday, with markets pricing an almost sure decision of keeping depo rate at 2%. Other banks meeting are the BoE (expected to cut to 3.75%) and the BoJ (expected to hike to 0.75%).
Financial markets had a mixed session on Tuesday. Sovereign bond yields fell on both sides of the Atlantic after a choppy session, driven by US employment figures distorted by the recent shutdown. The data showed job growth rebounded in November, while the unemployment rate rose in October following a methodological change due to the shutdown.
Stocks declined across the board on Friday as downbeat activity figures in the U.S. (nonfarm payroll employment +20,000 in February after +311,000 in January) and China (export growth dropped from 9.1% yoy in January to -20.7% in February) added to the OECD and the ECB's downgraded macroeconomic projections earlier in the week.