The Nikkei 225 Stock Average displayed on a rotating-cube screen in an atrium of the Kabuto One building, next the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in Tokyo, Japan, on Tuesday, 7 June 2022. (Photo: Akio Kon/Bloomberg) The regional gauge added about 0.5%, helped by gains in Japan. Morning trading in Hong Kong was scrapped due to a storm. US futures pushed higher in the wake of positive closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100.
China stepped up stimulus with a further 1 trillion yuan (R2.46-trillion) of measures for an economy stricken by property-sector woes, Covid-linked mobility curbs and some power shortages. Mainland shares erased early gains, reflecting uncertainty about whether the efforts are sufficient.
Market angst ahead of Powell’s comments is centred on whether he will rebut expectations that slowing growth will temper monetary tightening in the next phase of the campaign against high inflation.
Treasuries trimmed a slide but the two-year yield remained in sight of 3.40%. A dollar gauge dipped. Crude oil added to a rally that could feed into renewed jitters about whether price pressures have peaked.
Fed officials in the run-up to Jackson Hole have been clear they see more monetary tightening ahead, a message that’s eroded a bounce in stocks and bonds from mid-June troughs. The tension in markets is whether those assets will continue to head back toward the lows of the year.
Powell on Friday has the opportunity to reset expectations of a pivot and even rate cuts in 2023 and “if there’s anything he’s likely to push back against, it’s that – the fact that rates may have to come down” Anastasia Amoroso, the chief investment strategist at iCapital, said on Bloomberg Television.
South Korea’s central bank raised borrowing costs and projected faster inflation. The won and bond yields advanced. The currency led an Asian basket tracked by Bloomberg.
In Europe, natural gas prices have surged to fresh highs, intensifying an energy crisis that threatens the euro-area economy and hence the global outlook. BM