Global stocks and futures fell more. Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve’s minutes to see if rates will stay low longer.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts were each down 0.23% after the major indexes posted their biggest one-day declines in two months. The treasury fluctuated. European stocks fell amid growing concerns over a lack of earnings. CoStar Group fell in premarket trading in New York on disappointing guidance.
The equity selloff deepened amid growing signs that the world’s central banks are far from over in their fight against inflation, highlighted by a succession of hawkish comments from Fed officials last week. Tensions and shocks make people feel worse, making any optimism about China’s reopening go away. U.S. central bank leaders will release minutes from January 31 through February. One meeting time on Wednesday could reveal how many of them need a bigger rate hike.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 index is going for a second day of losses. Lloyds Banking Group Plc fell on the FTSE 100 after 2023 results and guidance came in below analysts’ estimates. The company announced a £2bn share buyback, but that didn’t stop the stock from falling. Miner Rio Tinto Plc fell after it reported a lower profit and cut its dividend due to weak Chinese demand.
Moreover, Home Depot Inc. issued a forecast for declining profits. Only 68,4% of S&P 500 companies reporting results this season beat estimates, compared with about 80% in recent quarters.
On Tuesday, actions in the United States marked a shift in perceptions of tariffs.
Investors are expecting a 5.33% federal funds rate in June
BlackRock Investment Institute does not see U.S. inflation as a target for a policy return. A complex geopolitical outlook did not help. President Putin said Russia would suspend compliance with a new nuclear weapons treaty with the United States, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken called irresponsible.
The prospect of more aggressive interest rate hikes from the Fed to tame inflation has kept prices down, even as evidence of a strong recovery in China is mounting after the end of COVID Zero.
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