US equity futures fell after giving up early gains, as traders braced for another supersized US rate hike amid rising anxiety the Federal Reserve could overtighten and raise the odds of a hard landing. The dollar rebounded on haven demand.
Contracts on the tech-heavy and rate-sensitive Nasdaq 100 slipped 0.5%, underperforming S&P 500 peers. In premarket trading, Ford Motor Co. fell after issuing its third-quarter profit forecast, with analysts concerned about the impact of higher costs.
The US central bank kicks off its meeting today and is expected to again hike rates by 75 basis points Wednesday, signal rates are heading above 4% and will then pause. The long hold strategy is rooted in the idea the central bank would avoid the disastrous stop-go policy of the 1970s that allowed inflation to get out of hand. Market participants have dialed back expectations of an even larger increase and only two of 96 economists in a Bloomberg survey now predict a full-point move.
“The Federal Reserve is likely tightening policy straight into the teeth of a recession,” Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO and chief strategist of Quill Intelligence, wrote in an email. “The stock market’s addiction to Fed easing when stocks decline may be what Jerome Powell is aiming to quash by aggressively hiking rates, in addition to inflation.”
Meanwhile, in a worrying trend for stocks, real rates — Treasury yields adjusted for inflation — rose to the highest level since 2011. When they were pinned in negative territory during a decade of easy-money policies, real rates had been a key driver of risk-asset rallies.
A Citigroup Inc. index shows US profit downgrades have outnumbered upgrades in the past 15 weeks, and on Monday, strategists at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. both warned that risks are mounting for earnings and equity valuations.
Elsewhere, Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 Index retreated, paced by losses on real estate and miners. Bitcoin struggled to return to the $20,000 level. Oil slipped below $86 per barrel and gold fell.
Will the Nasdaq 100 Stock Index hit 10,000 or 14,000 first? This week’s MLIV Pulse survey focuses on technology. It’s brief and we don’t collect your name or any contact information. Please click here to share your views.
Key events this week:
- US housing starts, Tuesday
- EIA crude oil inventory report, Wednesday
- US existing home sales, Wednesday
- Federal Reserve decision, followed by a news conference with Chair Jerome Powell, Wednesday
- Bank of Japan monetary policy decision, Thursday
- The Bank of England interest rate decision, Thursday
- US Conference Board leading index, initial jobless claims, Thursday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
- Futures on the S&P 500 fell 0.4% as of 7:50 a.m. New York time
- Futures on the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%
- Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%
- The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.6%
- The MSCI World index was little changed
Currencies
- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
- The euro fell 0.3% to $0.9994
- The British pound was little changed at $1.1434
- The Japanese yen fell 0.3% to 143.58 per dollar
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced six basis points to 3.55%
- Germany’s 10-year yield advanced 11 basis points to 1.92%
- Britain’s 10-year yield advanced 14 basis points to 3.28%
Commodities
- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.2% to $85.88 a barrel
- Gold futures fell 0.2% to $1,675.40 an ounce
Source By: Bloomberg