Global equities stabilized on Tuesday, while the yen weakened beyond 150 against the dollar following the Bank of Japan‘s decision to end eight years of negative interest rates, meeting market expectations. This event is likely the highlight of a busy week for central banks. Investors are now shifting their attention to the U.S.
Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, scheduled to conclude on Wednesday, where the central bank is expected to offer more insights into the anticipated pace of interest rate reductions for the remainder of the year.
Financial markets are now contemplating the possibility of the Federal Reserve reducing its projected number of rate cuts for the year from three to two, following last week’s stronger-than-expected inflation data. The MSCI’s world share index (.MIWD00000PUS) remained relatively unchanged, hovering near all-time highs.
On Wall Street, stocks reversed earlier losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) rising by 0.68%, the S&P 500 (.SPX) gaining 0.35%, and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) adding 0.21%.
The U.S benchmark 10-year Treasury yield declined by 3.6 basis points to 4.304. The significant news of the day came from Japan, where the Bank of Japan marked a new era by moving away from years of ultra-easy monetary policy. It also abandoned bond yield curve control and ceased purchases of riskier assets, including exchange-traded funds.
Japan’s Nikkei (.N225) experienced volatility following the decision but ultimately closed 0.66% higher, supported by the weaker yen, while Japanese government bond yields decreased.
The dollar saw a 1.19% increase, reaching 150.96 yen against the Japanese currency
European shares saw limited movement, with the STOXX 600 (.STOXX) and euro zone bond yields experiencing minimal changes.
In other central bank news of the day, the Reserve Bank of Australia maintained interest rates as anticipated, while softening its tightening bias by stating it was not excluding any policy options. Following the decision, the Australian dollar decreased by 0.45% to $0.6531, marking a decline of over 4% against the U.S. dollar this year.
The Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting concludes on Wednesday, while central banks in Britain, Norway, and Switzerland convene on Thursday. It is widely anticipated that they will maintain interest rates, although there is speculation in the markets about potential actions in the Alps.
Regarding the Federal Reserve, market focus is on updated economic and interest rate projections from policymakers, along with comments from Chair Jerome Powell. Last week’s higher-than-expected inflation reports prompted traders to reduce their expectations for U.S. rate cuts this year.
Currently, markets are pricing in 71 basis points of easing in 2024, which is roughly consistent with the Fed’s December projections. Initially, at the beginning of the year, traders were expecting 150 basis points of cuts.
In the commodities market, spot gold declined by 0.3% to $2,154.69 per ounce after reaching all-time highs earlier this month. U.S. crude oil recently rose by 1.02% to $83.56 per barrel, while Brent crude was at $87.50, up 0.7% on the day.
Bitcoin experienced a 6% decline earlier in the day but partially recovered by the afternoon, showing a decrease of 3.19% at $65,456.00.
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