SHANGHAI, Mar 7 - This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
The U.S. dollar slipped against a basket of currencies on Monday as investors waited on testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and jobs data due later this week for further indications on how much higher the U.S. central bank is likely to raise interest rates.
The dollar rose to a near 1-week high against the yen, before giving up those gains to trade down 0.44% to 130.095 yen.
U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly Monday as investors looked ahead to key data releases and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell due this week.
The euro was last up 0.39% on the day at $1.0675, while sterling was down 0.20% $1.2016. The dollar gained 0.11% to 136.00 yen ahead of the final policy meeting for Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Thursday and Friday. The yuan dipped after China on Sunday set a lower-than-expected target for economic growth this year of around 5%.
U.S. stock futures were little changed on Monday night as traders await Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments on the state of the economy.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 11 points, or 0.03%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.06%, while Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.06%.
Stocks were higher to start the day after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage of Apple with a buy rating, lifting both the iPhone maker and the broader market. Apple makes up about 7% of the S&P 500. Other mega-cap tech stocks such as Alphabet and Microsoft also advanced.
However, the major averages gave up most of those gains following a slight rise in bond yields. Investors have been troubled by moves in the bond market after the 10-year Treasury yield recently topped a key 4% threshold.
U.S. natural gas futures plunged by about 15% on Monday - its biggest one-day drop in over eight months —on forecasts for much less cold weather and heating demand than previously expected over the next two weeks.
That price drop came after the contract soared about 9% to a five-week high on Friday as gas flows to U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants jumped to a record high with Freeport LNG’s export plant in Texas ramping up after exiting an eight-month outage in February.
Gold eased from an earlier near three-week high on Monday as investors prepared for Congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell this week and monthly U.S. jobs data, both of which could influence interest rate policy.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,846.54 per ounce by 2:56 p.m. ET, after hitting its highest since Feb. 15 at $1,858.19. U.S. gold futures settled unchanged at $1,854.60.
European stock markets closed flat Monday, after paring modest early-session gains. Markets had a positive opening following last week’s boost before slipping into the red.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 provisionally closed down 0.03%. Mining stocks dropped 2.6% to lead losses, with Anglo American and Rio Tinto among the worst performers.