Dollar steadies before Fed minutes; bitcoin stumbles
Reuters
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Monetary policy outlook key to dollar’s direction; China’s policy moves unsettle cryptocurrencies
The US dollar steadied but remained near a six-year low against its Canadian counterpart and nursed losses against European currencies as expectations that US interest rates will remain low undermined the greenback. The minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting due later on Wednesday are expected to confirm that policymakers think a rate hike is still in the distance. Investors will also be scrutinising consumer price data in Britain and Canada later in the trading day to determine how quickly major economies will be forced to rein in their accommodative monetary policy, which holds the key to the dollar’s trend in the medium term.
Old warhorse beats Tesla and meme stocks on Wall Street
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Last Updated: May 16, 2021, 06:12 PM IST
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The cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline Co.’s fuel distribution line along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard didn’t do much damage to refining stocks, as a prolonged shutdown was avoided.
Reuters
Oil & gas shares are up 40% this year compared with a 11% gain in the broad equities benchmark.
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By Michael Bellusci
It’s going to take more than a pesky pipeline shutdown to knock energy stocks off their pedestal as this year’s best performing group in the S&P 500. Indeed, while the market focuses on popular meme stocks, alternative energy plays, tech and Tesla, the best place to make money in 2021 has been that old warhorse, the crude patch.
Mumbai: Foreign fund managers are least bullish on the Indian stock market since September 2020 if their equity derivative bets are to go by. The long-to-short ratio a measure of the number of bullish positions against bearish positions of overseas investors in Nifty futures is at 40.6 per cent, the lowest since October 30, said analysts. This ratio was 81 per cent in January this year.
Analysts said growing concerns over the acceleration in US inflation, which is feared to push up interest rates there, and record increases in Covid-19 cases across the country have led to foreigners turning bearish on India.
“FPIs (Foreign Portfolio Investors) have significantly reduced long positions and also created short positions. It started happening in mid of April. Already we have seen a year of good up-move and Covid cases are not falling in India,” said Chandan Taparia, derivative analyst at Motilal Oswal.
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BENGALURU (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge would have to hit a high of 2.8% to discomfort U.S. policymakers, according to a Reuters poll which also suggested the central bank would tolerate that rate for three months at least before it acts.
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers carry bags of purchased merchandise at the King of Prussia Mall, United States largest retail shopping space, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., December 8, 2018. REUTERS/Mark Makela/File Photo
Stocks slumped and Treasury yields jumped on Wednesday after data showed annual U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly rose by the most in nearly 12 years in April, prompting earlier policy tightening bets.