Trump Says Inflation Is Down to A ‘Perfect' Number
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Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dollar drifts, Asian stocks mixed as markets brace for Jackson Hole
By Kevin Buckland TOKYO (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar hovered below a one-week high on Thursday and Asian stock markets were broadly mixed as investors braced for three days of potentially market-moving news from the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole. Central bankers from around the world will attend the event, which begins later in the day, although the key focus will be Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday as traders look for clues on the chances of a September rate cut. Japan's Nikkei drooped 0.6% in the morning session, retreating further from the record peak reached on Tuesday. Despite a tech-led selloff on Wall Street overnight, Japanese chip stocks were a mixed bag, with Advantest up 3% while Tokyo Electron dropped 2%. South Korea's KOSPI bounced 0.9% after dipping to a six-week low on Wednesday. Australia's benchmark gained 0.6% and renewed an all-time high. Mainland Chinese blue chips gained 0.5%, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng was largely flat. U.S. stock futures pointed lower, with Nasdaq futures sagging 0.2% and S&P 500 futures easing 0.1%. Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.7% and the S&P 500 cash index slipped 0.2%. [.N] "There remains a bearish skew for equities at the moment," said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at "Equity prices are beginning to reflect the risk of disappointment at Jackson Hole, with doubts circulating about whether the Fed will pivot as aggressively in the dovish direction implied by rates markets - or even pivot at all." Traders currently lay odds of about 80% for a quarter-point Fed rate cut on September 17, and price in a total of 52 basis points of easing over the rest of the year. This time on Wednesday, the odds for a cut next month stood at 84%. Fed Chair Powell has said he is reluctant to cut rates because of expected tariff-driven price pressures this summer. Minutes out overnight from the Fed's July gathering, when policymakers voted to keep rates steady, suggested that Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller were alone in pushing for a rate cut at the meeting. Traders ramped up bets for a September cut following a surprisingly weak payrolls report at the start of this month, and were further encouraged after consumer price data showed limited upward pressure from tariffs. However, a hotter-than-expected producer price reading last week complicated the policy picture. Traders aren't looking at macroeconomic data as the only potential influencer of monetary policy direction, with President Donald Trump again exerting pressure on the central bank overnight. After continuing his attacks on Powell earlier in the week for refraining from cutting rates, Trump on Wednesday targeted Fed Governor Lisa Cook, demanding she resign amid allegations of wrongdoing connected to mortgages on properties she owns in Georgia and Michigan. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down". Trump's push for more control over the Fed unnerved investors earlier in the year, sending the dollar tumbling. The currency has largely taken the latest developments in stride though, and the dollar index was steady at 98.252 on Thursday, after grinding to the highest since August 12 at 98.441 a day earlier. "The broader implication is rising tensions between the Fed and the U.S. administration," said Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank. "Trump's push to confirm Stephen Miran could add another vote for cuts in September, and if he was to successfully remove Cook, the Fed Board could end up with four members out of seven supporting his lower rates call." Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Miran as a Fed governor earlier this month, following the surprise resignation of Adriana Kugler. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were steady at 4.2965% in the latest session. Japanese government bond yields edged higher though, with the 20-year yield advancing to 2.655% for the first time since late 1999. Among other things, investors are wary of increased fiscal spending amid growing pressure for the Japanese prime minister to step down. The dollar traded little changed at 147.41 yen. The euro and sterling were flat at $1.1647 and $1.3458, respectively. Bitcoin continued to claw its way back from a 2-1/2-week low reached Wednesday at $112,386.93, edging up to around $114,690. Gold eased slightly to around $3,342 per ounce. Oil prices edged higher as larger-than-expected declines in crude oil and fuel inventories in the U.S. supported expectations for steady demand. Brent crude futures were up 0.5% to $67.19 a barrel, after gaining 1.6% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.6% to $63.10, after climbing 1.4% on Wednesday. [O/R] Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Asian markets creep up as investors await key speech
Asian markets edged mostly upward in muted morning trading on Thursday, one day before a key speech expected to offer signals about future interest rate cuts in the United States. US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who has resisted public demands by President Donald Trump to cut rates, is scheduled to deliver remarks Friday at the annual central bankers conference in Wyoming. Data last week provided a mixed picture of US inflation, making it uncertain if the Fed will lower rates as many investors expect in September -- which could bolster growth in the world's largest economy. In a sign of further uncertainty, recent days have seen a sell-off of major technology stocks as investors grow wary of a sustained rally in the industry despite a range of global economic hurdles. Wall Street closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq falling again as shares in AI chip-maker Nvidia ticked down. Despite the building unease, shares in Seoul were up Thursday morning, bolstered by a rise in Samsung's price. Shanghai, Sydney, Taipei and Bangkok also charted moderate rises. Tokyo's Nikkei index continued its fall from the previous day, while shares in Hong Kong were flat. Japan reported Wednesday that the country's July exports plunged at the steepest rate in over four years, straining under hefty US tariffs. Wednesday also saw Hong Kong's stock exchange operator post record half-year revenue, riding a renewed surge in listings and trading activity in the Chinese finance hub. Global markets have fluctuated recently on the prospects of a peace deal in Ukraine, following days of high-stakes diplomacy in the aftermath of Trump's Friday meeting with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. But hopes for an imminent end to the war -- started by Moscow's invasion over three years ago -- were tempered Wednesday after Russia said it must be included in any discussions on security guarantees for Ukraine. The diplomatic whirlwind has sparked volatility in oil markets as traders speculate over the possible lifting of sanctions on Russia, a major producer. Oil prices continued to rise Thursday on the heels of a report the previous day showing a sharp decline in crude stockpiles. - Key figures at around 0215 GMT - Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 42,706.39 Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: FLAT at 25,162.78 Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,773.56 Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1647 from $1.1648 on Wednesday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3455 from $1.3452 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 147.31 yen from 147.44 yen Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.56 pence from 86.59 pence West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $63.00 per barrel Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.4 percent at $67.09 per barrel New York - Dow: FLAT at 44,938.31 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 1.1 percent at 9,288.14 (close) pfc/cwl
CNBC
23 minutes ago
- CNBC
Dollar drifts as investors ponder Fed independence ahead of Powell speech
The U.S. dollar drifted on Thursday as investors fretted about the Federal Reserve's independence after yet another attack from President Donald Trump ahead of remarks from Chair Jerome Powell later this week that could influence the outlook for rates. Trump called on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the U.S. central bank. Cook said she had "no intention of being bullied to step down" from her position at the central bank. Trump has also told aides he is considering trying to fire Cook, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. "It has the potential to raise questions around the Fed's oversight and regulatory functions but it has little to no near-term monetary policy implications," said Prashant Newnaha, senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD Securities. That explained the relatively muted reaction in the currency markets to the news as the dollar initially dipped on the news but was mostly calm into the Asian session. The Japanese yen held onto gains made in previous sessions and was little changed at 147.41 per dollar, while the euro was steady at $1.1642. Sterling last fetched $1.34535. That left the dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against six other peers, steady at 98.301. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for being too slow to cut rates, stoking investor worries about the central bank's independence and its credibility. Investors expect Trump will replace Powell with a more dovish appointment when his term ends in May. Trump earlier this month said he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a vacant Fed seat after Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned. Kristina Clifton, a senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, said if Cook resigns it would create another opening for Trump to appoint a Fed Governor who will vote to lower interest rates. "Perceived political interference in the Federal Reserve can undermine its independence, steepening the yield curve and denting the USD's safe haven status." The main focus this week has been on whether Powell will push back against market expectations for a rate cut at the Fed's September 16-17 meeting when he speaks on Friday at the Jackson Hole meeting, following a weak jobs report for July. "Markets are adamant that recent labor market data necessitates some policy calibration and are expecting Chair Powell to tip his hat in that direction," TD's Newnaha said. Traders are pricing in an 82% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut next month, CME FedWatch tool showed. While the odds have lowered from last week after hotter than expected producer price inflation tempered expectations, investors are still pricing in over 50 bps of easing this year. Some analysts cautioned that markets could end up being disappointed by Powell's speech, noting that the impact of Trump's tariffs on inflation remains uncertain. "It is not clear that Powell will deliver strong guidance," said Benoit Anne, managing director in the investment solutions group at MFS Investment Management. If the dovish signals elude us, there will be significant pricing out of the odds for a September cut." In other currencies, the New Zealand dollar was nursing steep overnight losses at $0.58205 after diving 1.2% to its lowest level since April. New Zealand's central bank cut interest rates on Wednesday as expected but left the door wide open to yet more easing if needed. The Australian dollar eased 0.13% to $0.64245, hovering near a two-week low.
