- On Thursday, investors priced in the possibility of rising interest rates and an impending recession in the US, which caused US equity futures to decline and benchmark Treasury yields to remain close to the 4% level.
- S&P 500 futures decreased by 0.2%, while those for the rate-sensitive Nasdaq fell by 0.5%. Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices sank nearly 1% in pre-market trade in New York, while Tesla lost about 3% after US regulators opened an investigation into complaints regarding the steering wheel in some new models. The benchmark Stoxx 600 index for Europe also decreased by around 0.5 percent.
- As the head of the Federal Reserve told legislators that no decision had been taken on the speed of the next move, investors are taking in Jerome Powell's signals. But, he emphasised that tightening could still accelerate and that rates may increase more than expected if the economy warranted it.
The remarks came at the same time as more positive US jobs data, boosting wagers that officials will maintain their hawkish stance. Instead of the quarter-point move that was initially anticipated, wagers now strongly lean towards a half-point move in March.
- Bank of America's CEO Moynihan: BofA sees a slight US recession beginning in the 3Q.
