Market Sentiment Wavers as Equities Retreat Ahead of Key Fed Minutes and Data

Market Sentiment Wavers as Equities Retreat Ahead of Key Fed Minutes and Data

VoM News Desk | January 3, 2024 | 11:15 AM IST | Breaking News | Follow on Google News

Market Sentiment Wavers as Equities Retreat Ahead of Key Fed Minutes and Data

Market Sentiment Wavers as Equities Retreat Ahead of Key Fed Minutes and Data

Equities faced downward pressure on Wednesday, as earlier optimism surrounding swift US interest rate cuts dwindled before the unveiling of the Fed minutes and crucial job statistics.

In Asia, attention turns to Chinese tech stocks following reports of a senior official’s removal in charge of the gaming sector, hinting at Beijing’s efforts to alleviate the fallout from stringent regulations causing an $80 billion sector-wide slump.

Global bond markets also suffered a setback on Tuesday, with Treasury yields climbing, predominantly in the short-term spectrum. This decline reflects doubts regarding policymakers’ willingness to implement the extensively anticipated monetary easing, wary of prematurely abandoning the battle against inflation.

The spotlight now shifts to the impending release of the Fed minutes from December’s policy meeting, along with an array of data releases this week, pivotal in justifying the envisaged aggressive policy changes already factored in by the markets. Expectations rest on six forecasted rate cuts in 2024, as per futures predictions.

On the US economic front, Wednesday features the ISM survey on manufacturing and job openings data, followed by a private payrolls report and jobless claims figures on Thursday. The highly anticipated US nonfarm payrolls report is slated for release on Friday.

Bitcoin edged up by 0.5% to reach $45,205, hovering close to Tuesday’s 21-month peak of $45,922.

Oil prices showed marginal improvement after a previous drop. US crude futures inched up by 0.1% to $70.43 per barrel, following a more than 1% decline on Tuesday, while Brent LCOc1 remained steady at $75.86 a barrel.

Spot gold saw a slight uptick, rising by 0.1% to reach $2,060.18 an ounce.

VoM News Desk

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