SHANGHAI, Feb 23 —This is a roundup of global macroeconomic news last night and what is expected today.
The dollar stood near a seven-week high against the euro and the Aussie on Thursday, as expectations the Federal Reserve is likely to stay on its aggressive rate-hike path, reinforced by minutes from its last policy meeting, set the tone for markets.
Nearly all Fed policymakers favored a scale down in the pace of interest rate hikes at the U.S. central bank’s last policy meeting, minutes from the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 FOMC meeting showed on Wednesday.
However, they also indicated curbing unacceptably high inflation would be the “key factor” in how much further rates need to rise.
The dollar paused its ascent on Thursday after gaining broadly on the back of the release.
Stock futures ticked higher Wednesday evening.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 41 points or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures gained 0.3%, and Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 0.6%.
Nasdaq futures got a boost from Nvidia, which rose more than 8% after hours on better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings and revenue.
In regular trading, the Dow lost 84.50 points, or 0.26%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.16%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.13%.
The moves came after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its most recent meeting, which concluded Feb. 1, showing that members of the central bank are resolved to keep fighting inflation with rate hikes.
Oil prices fell by $2 per barrel to their lowest in two weeks on Wednesday, as investors became more concerned that recent economic data will mean more aggressive interest rate increases by central banks, pressuring economic growth and fuel demand.
Brent crude futures settled $2.45, or 3%, lower at $80.60 per barrel. The West Texas Intermediate crude futures (WTI) dropped $2.41, or 3%, to end at $74.05 a barrel.
The settlement levels were the lowest for both benchmarks since Feb. 3.
Gold prices fell on Wednesday as the dollar rose after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting showed policymakers backed more interest rate hikes to tame inflation.
Spot gold was down 0.5% at $1,825.60 per ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% lower at $1,841.50 per ounce.
European markets were lower on Wednesday, as investors gauge the global economic outlook and await the minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3% lower, with most sectors recording declines. Mining stocks dropped 2.1% and banks fell 1.6%, while media stocks gained 1.4%.
