Macro Roundup (Dec 14)

SHANGHAI, Dec 14 — This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.

The US dollar rose on Monday ahead of a slew of central bank meetings this week led by the Federal Reserve, with investors expecting the U.S. central bank to announce it will wrap up its bond purchases sooner than expected, as they look for clues on timing of interest rate increases next year.

Aside from the Fed, the European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, Bank of England, Swiss National Bank, and Norges Bank, among others, all have policy decisions in the next few days.

The euro fell, as it is seen as vulnerable to a U.S. rate hike given expectations that the Fed will tighten policy more quickly than the dovish ECB.

The dollar index , which measures the greenback against six major peers, was up 0.2% at 96.297. The euro was down 0.2% at $1.1291.

Against the yen, the dollar was up 0.1% at 113.49 yen .

U.S. stock index futures were little changed during overnight trading on Monday after the major averages started the week in the red as Covid omicron fears hit sentiment.

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 45 points. S&P 500 futures were up 0.11%, while Nasdaq 100 futures were 0.08% higher.

During regular trading, the Dow slid 0.89%, or 320 points, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.9%. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.39% as investors rotated out of technology stocks with high valuations.

Shares of airlines and cruise line operators declined amid fears that the omicron variant could slow travel.

While equities fell broadly on Monday, growth areas of the market underperformed. The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF dipped 1.22%, while the iShares Russell 1,000 Value ETF declined 0.45%.

Oil fell on Monday as new doubts emerged about the effectiveness of vaccines against Omicron coronavirus variant, though OPEC predicted in its monthly report that the variant’s impact on fuel demand will be mild.

Brent crude fell 76 cents, or 1%, to settle at $74.39 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined 38 cents, or 0.53%, to settle at $71.29 per barrel.

Both benchmarks posted gains of about 8% last week, their first weekly gain in seven.

Gold prices inched higher on Monday as investors squared positions ahead of key central bank meetings this week, with the Federal Reserve likely to signal the pace at which it may wind down pandemic-era economic support measures.

Spot gold was up 0.2% at $1,786.19 per ounce as of 01:48 p.m. ET. U.S. gold futures settled up 0.2% at $1,788.30.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed lower by 0.4%, with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory.

It is set to be an important week for monetary policy with the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank all due to make decisions this week.