- On Wednesday, global markets paused their advance as optimism over a likely dovish tilt by central banks faded and earnings from a wave of firms fell short of expectations.
- The STOXX 600 index in Europe fell 0.3%, while US equity futures moved lower. Alibaba slumped 8% in premarket trade in New York after the company stated it will not proceed with a full spinoff of its cloud unit. Cisco was on track for its greatest loss in 18 months after announcing that new product orders are stalling. Walmart fell 5.7% and upped its annual profit prediction marginally, but expressed caution about the future for US shoppers.
- Ten-year Treasury rates remained just below 4.5% after rising by about nine basis points the previous session. The price of a dollar was little changed as WTI crude fell towards $76 per barrel.
- The surge in equities and bonds this week has some wondering if the market is overreacting to predictions of interest rate decreases. While data show that US inflation is declining, other economic indicators such as retail sales and Target profitability imply that consumer demand remains strong.
- JPMorgan: OPEC+ may surprise with deeper oil supply cuts.
