SHANGHAI, Apr 3 - This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last Friday night and what is expected today.
The U.S. dollar rose against the euro on Friday but was on track for its fifth straight weekly loss against the common currency, after slower U.S. consumer spending growth boosted hopes the Federal Reserve would be less aggressive in hiking interest rates.
U.S. consumer spending rose moderately in February after surging the prior month, and while inflation showed signs of cooling it remained elevated, which could prompt the Fed to raise interest rates once more this year.
The euro was 0.5% lower at $1.0852 after the data. The European currency was up 0.8% in its fifth straight week of gains against the greenback, the longest such streak since August 2020.
The Fed is seen as about as likely to raise its benchmark overnight interest rate in May as not. But even if it does, it is expected to reverse course quickly and end the year with rates lower than it began, according to futures contracts tied to the U.S. central bank’s policy rate.
Nasdaq 100 futures retreated on Sunday evening as Wall Street turned its attention to the start of the second quarter.
Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.36%, while S&P 500 futures slid 0.10%. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked up 43 points, or 0.13%.
The moves in futures come ahead of the first trading day of the second quarter on Monday. All three major averages were positive in the first quarter, despite turmoil in the banking sector highlighted by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in March.
The Nasdaq Composite led the way in the quarter with a gain of 16.8% as tech stocks rebounded from a brutal slide last year. It was the index’s best stretch since the second quarter of 2020.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 7% in the first three months of the year for its second-straight positive quarter. The Dow industrials lagged but still managed to grind out an advance of 0.4%.
Oil prices rose by more than a dollar a barrel on Friday to record their second-straight week of gains, as supplies tightened in some parts of the world and U.S. inflation data indicated price rises were slowing.
The most actively traded Brent futures, for June delivery, settled up $1.29, or 1.6%, at $79.89 a barrel. Brent futures for May delivery, which expired upon settlement, gained 50 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $79.77 a barrel.
Gold prices were on track for a second straight quarterly rise on Friday, as growing bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve will slow the pace of interest rate hikes drew investors to the metal.
Spot gold was down 0.6% at $1,968.25 per ounce, after prices moved as much as 0.4% higher following data that showed U.S. consumer spending rose modestly in February. U.S. gold futures settled down 0.6% at $1,986.2.
European stock markets closed higher Friday, with the Stoxx 600 logging gains of 7.05% in the first quarter despite a volatile few weeks of trade in the banking sector.
The European benchmark closed down 1.36% for the month.
