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MORNING BID AMERICAS-Yen pops on Leap Day as PCE inflation looms

A take a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets from Mike Dolan

February's extra 'leap year' day saw the yen jump to two-week highs on hawkish Bank of Japan noises and bitcoin rise again to within 10% of brand-new records - but the huge obstacle for U.S. markets is the critical PCE inflation readout later today.

The yen increased to its best levels because mid-February and the Nikkei ended in the red once again after BOJ board member Hajime Takata stated the reserve bank needs to consider overhauling its ultra-loose policy, consisting of an exit from negative rate of interest and bond yield caps.

Vice finance minister Masato Kanda likewise told G20 equivalents meeting in Brazil that Japan would act to prevent excessive weak point of the yen.

Bitcoin, meantime, headed for its most significant monthly gain in more than 3 years - briefly topping $63,000. over night - as money fills newly-listed bitcoin funds and. traders hypothesized ahead of April's 'cutting in half' occasion.

The cat-and-mouse game over the timing of BOJ. ' normalisation' is available in tandem with second-guessing over the. timing of the very first rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and. European Reserve Bank.

Thursday's release of Fed's favoured PCE measure of. inflation for January stays critical to its decision making.

The Fed will see February customer rate updates. before it meets again next month, today's release is the last. PCE readout before the March 20 event.

Headline PCE inflation is expected to have fallen again to. simply 2.4% versus 2.6% - with 'core' rates down to 2.8% and both. measures clocking their most affordable in almost 3 years. But an. anticipated uptick in month-to-month rate rises might keep Fedsters wary.

While a relentless message of 'persistence' from Fed authorities. over recent weeks has pushed futures markets into just completely. pricing a first cut by July, the current stream of speeches seem. eager not to take eventual reducing completely off the table.

New york city Fed manager John Williams stated on Wednesday that even. There's some distance to cover in attaining the 2%. inflation target, the door is opening to rate cuts this year.

Subdued Wall St stocks ended at a loss on. Wednesday and futures were down again ahead of Thursday's bell.

And there was no 'leap day' for cloud information firm Snowflake. , whose shares plunged 22% over night after a revenues. miss, alerting on customer demand ahead and the visit of a. new chief executive.

U.S. Treasury yields ticked greater into the PCE. release and as Republican and democratic leaders in Congress. announced a deal for advancing the 12 yearly costs that fund an. selection of federal programs and which could prevent government. shutdowns as soon as Saturday.

With dollar/yen blazing a trail, the dollar index. fell back.

November's election is never ever far from investors' minds at. this phase of the year.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted choose Donald. Trump's claim of resistance from prosecution for trying to. reverse his 2020 election loss, giving him an increase as he tries. to delay prosecutions while running to restore the. presidency.

The Supreme Court set the case for oral argument during the. week of April 22.

Somewhere else, mainland Chinese shares jumped more than. 1% as regulators said they would enhance supervision of. derivatives and revealed punishment for a hedge fund for. extreme, high-frequency trading in share index futures.

With northbound inflows to stocks standing out, there's. Some tempering on the negativeness as investors wait for the. result of next week National Individuals's Congress for a series of. financial targets and policy concerns for this year.

In Europe, data revealed inflation fell in 6 financially. essential German states in February - encouraging hopes that. German inflation is continuing its down trajectory. French and spanish inflation slowed too, albeit by less than. forecast in the latter.

Traders were likewise parsing signals from ECB officials about. modifications to how it handles short-term rates of interest management as. it diminishes its bloated balance sheet.

Shares in London-listed hedge fund firm Guy Group. rallied 3.6% to their highest given that mid-March 2023 after it. reported properties under management increased to a record $167.5 billion. last year.

Key journal items that might offer direction to U.S. markets later on. on Thursday:. * U.S. Jan personal earnings & & consumption, PCE inflation reading,. Dallas Fed core PCE cuts, weekly unemployed claims, Feb Chicago PMI. service study, Jan pending home sales; Canada Q4 GDP update. * New York Federal Reserve President John Williams, Atlanta Fed. President Raphael Bostic, Cleveland Fed chief Loretta Mester,. Chicago Fed chief Austan Goolsbee Bank of England. * U.S. Treasury auctions 4-week bills. * G20 finance ministers and main bankers satisfying in Sao. Paulo, G7 satisfies on sidelines. * U.S. corp profits: Best Buy, Hewlett Packard, Hormel Foods,. Autodesk, Evergy, NetApp, Zscaler, NetEase, Cooper, Celcius,. Bath & & Body Works, etc

(source: Reuters)