- Investor sentiment fluctuated between optimism that inflation has crested and worry that significant interest rate increases by the federal reserve will stymie economic growth, which led to a decrease in US futures. Bond yields increased, and the dollar advanced.
- The underlying gauges of the S&P 500 and NASDAQ 100 saw moderate gains on Wednesday, but the contracts for those indices varied before turning lower, with the latter lagging. The MSCI Asia Pacific index reversed earlier advances to trade lower, while European markets were flat.
- Traders are still paying close attention to US economic data, and a drop in producer prices there has provided some respite after Tuesday's consumer inflation shock caused bets on rate increases to escalate and stocks to drop to their lowest levels in two years. Later on Thursday, data on employment, manufacturing, and retail will be analyzed for hints about the health of the economy and inflation expectations.
