Global markets saw moderate gains on
Monday, despite continuing concerns about
economic growth and inflation. In early trading,
France's CAC 40 rose slightly to 7,522.58,
while Germany's DAX gained 0.2% to
15,830.74. The UK's FTSE 100 also saw a rise
of 0.5% to 7,911.91, and US shares were set
to follow suit, with Dow futures up by less than
0.1% at 34,059.00, and S&P 500 futures up by
0.1% to 4,168.75.
Traders remain focused on the upcoming
earnings reports of companies, as well as how
inflation may impact the Federal Reserve's and
other central banks' decisions on interest
rates. Swissquote Bank's senior analyst Ipek
Ozkardeskaya noted that "earnings
expectations for this quarter are not brilliant,"
but that corporate executives tend to sound
pessimistic, so the market's reaction could still
be positive despite the soft results.
The market's sensitivity to Federal Reserve
policy projections in response to US data
continues to cause volatility, according to Tan
Boon Heng of Mizuho Bank. Meanwhile,
Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset
Management, noted that investors remain
more concerned about weak inflation and
subdued demand recovery post-reopening,
with ex-China recession risks remaining high.
Last week, a top Fed official said that inflation
remained too high and that more tightening
might be necessary. Christopher Waller, a
member of the Fed's governing board, also
noted that even after hikes to rates end, they
will likely need to stay high for longer than
markets expect. Following Waller's comments,
traders bet that the Fed will raise rates at its
next meeting in May, instead of taking its first
pause in over a year.
In energy trading, benchmark US crude fell by
43 cents to $82.09 a barrel, while Brent crude,
the international standard, declined by 43
cents to $85.88 a barrel. In currency trading,
the US dollar inched up to 133.91 Japanese
yen from 133.75 yen, while the euro cost
$1.0978, down from $1.0997. Despite these
challenges, global markets continue to show
signs of resilience and moderate growth.
Social Plugin