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(Bloomberg) US stocks fell and Treasuries edged lower ahead of inflation data due later this week as turmoil in the banking sector has cast uncertainty over interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The S&P 500 slipped, snapping a three-day advance, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 was 1% lower. The two-year Treasury yield held just above 4% after a rollercoaster month that saw it as high as 5%. A dollar gauge fell for the eighth time in nine days. “Investors can’t seem to make up their minds as to where stocks should go from here, how the bank crisis will play out, and whether the FOMC’s next move will be a rate hike, a rate pause, or a rate cut,” said Bespoke Investment Group cofounder Paul Hickey. Investors will get a raft of data on the American economy this week, including on the central bank’s preferred measure of inflation, after US consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in March. Federal Reserve officials will also testify before Congress on the collapse of re
(Bloomberg) US stocks were little changed and Treasuries edged lower as uncertainty over the path of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes continued to plague markets in the wake of three US bank collapses. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said “appropriate monetary policy can continue to put downward pressure on inflation” despite the turmoil. Meanwhile, US consumers appear to have shrugged off the bank failures, with the latest consumer confidence figures unexpectedly higher. The S&P 500 drifted lower, snapping a three-day advance, while the two-year Treasury yield held just above 4%. “Investors can’t seem to make up their minds as to where stocks should go from here, how the bank crisis will play out, and whether the FOMC’s next move will be a rate hike, a rate pause, or a rate cut,” said Bespoke Investment Group cofounder Paul Hickey. Swaps traders have priced in more than a 50% probability that the Federal Reserve will lift rates by a quarter point at its
(Bloomberg) Thanks to swift central bank action to stamp out financial sector troubles, the investment case for European bank shares could be set for a complete reset. One where bulls are back in charge. With European banks rebounding on Tuesday for the second day in a row, the Stoxx 600 Banks Index has clawed back almost half of last week’s 12% rout, as worries about US bank deposit runs ebbed, and European regulators offered reassurances to holders of the riskiest bank bonds. Sector enthusiasts and there are plenty argue the shotgun deal for UBS Group AG to take over Credit Suisse Group AG has at a stroke removed a major, years-long overhang for Europe’s banking industry. They reckon that will be enough to return focus to the factors that drove European banks’ scintillating October-March rally cheap share price valuations and their underperformance when set against bond yields. “We take the view that in 6 to 12 months, European banks will be higher than what they are
(Bloomberg) US stocks rallied into the close as traders wagered the worst of the banking turmoil has passed. Treasuries fell. The S&P 500 recovered much of its lost gains in the late afternoon session after a Russian fighter jet colliding with a US drone tamped down the initial enthusiasm. The tech-heavy Nasdaq notched its biggest one-day gain in six weeks. The relief rally in banking stocks was crimped as the KBW Bank Index ended the day with a 3.2% gain. Remarks from ratings companies on the financial sector underscored the fragile sentiment as markets were jolted by the biggest American bank failures since the financial crisis. Moody’s Investors Service cut its outlook on the sector on the heels of the trio of banking collapses over the past few days. First Republic Bank triggered a volatility halt after S&P Global Ratings placing the company on watch negative. The two-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.3% following a three-day swoon that was the biggest in decades amid the tumul
Top fund managers predict that Chinese equities will rally as strict coronavirus measures are relaxed, with 60% surveyed by Bloomberg News survey recommending them as a buy.
US stocks rose after recent economic data and a smaller-than-expected interest-rate hike from the Bank of Canada buoyed hopes that the Federal Reserve may soon reach the end of its tightening regime.