Latest News

CORRECTED-Stocks slip, bonds sidle in controlled week ahead of vacation

Wall Street turned modestly lower in late trade on Tuesday, primarily in sync with subdued international share market movements, while the yen hovered near 2022 intervention levels after more official Japanese jawboning to discourage shorting of the currency given that last week's. financial policy tightening.

Treasury yields hardly moved, reflecting muted trading. across property classes ahead of Good Friday, when U.S. markets and. many other financial centers will be closed.

The S&P 500 shut down 14.61 points, or 0.28%, at. 5,203.58. the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 31.31. points, or 0.08%, to 39,282.33, and the Nasdaq Composite. fell 68.77 points, or 0.42%, to 16,315.70.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe. fell 1.02 points, or 0.13%, to 778.43.

It's an interesting dynamic, and this holds whenever. we have a Fed conference - the next week tends to have a quieter. tone to it. Particularly a holiday-shortened week like we have. here, and the quantity of information impact is going to be lighter,. said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth in New. York, referring to the Federal Reserve.

That's drawing in the sideways motion we have actually seen.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.24%,. and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan. closed 0.25% higher 0.25%, at 535.59.

In the spotlight was the yen, which has been. trading near to its weakest against the dollar considering that 1990, even. after the Bank of Japan raised rate of interest last week for the. Time in 17 years.

The dollar ticked up 0.1% to 151.56 yen, dealing with the risk. of Japan stepping in to avoid further falls in the Japanese. currency. Dollar/yen rose to 151.94 in October 2022, previously. intervention pushed it lower.

Japanese Financing Minister Shunichi Suzuki said on. Tuesday he would not rule out any measures to handle the. yen's weakening, echoing a caution from Tokyo's leading currency. diplomat the previous day.

The dollar deteriorated 0.06% to 7.248 versus the. offshore Chinese yuan, which was supported after a. stronger-than-expected fixing of its trading band.

Markets were agitated by a sharp drop in the yuan on. Friday, after months of tight trading, and some hypothesize China. is loosening its grip on the currency to allow it to fall.

We've got changing sands in the FX market. You've got. danger of intervention from Japan ... and from China. It's good. to see that they do really care about the economy and they are. happy to step in. It's not quite the stimulus we want. they are saying 'enough is enough now, we do need to worry about. our deflation', XTB research study director Kathleen Brooks said.

A 14% decrease in the yen's value over the last 12 months fed. a rise in Tokyo's Nikkei index to tape-record highs in. current days, despite the fact that it slipped 0.04% on Tuesday.

COMBINED OUTLOOKS

Last Wednesday, the Federal Free market Committee left U.S. rates of interest where they were and the FOMC's median dot plot. forecasts revealed no modification to the previous forecast of three. rate cuts this year, regardless of a strong economy and persistent. inflation.

Puzzling the image somewhat given that, while Chicago Fed. President Austan Goolsbee on Monday said he had pencilled in. three rate cuts this year, Fed Guv Lisa Cook prompted caution. and Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic reiterated Friday. remarks trimming his expectations to one cut.

U.S. rate of interest futures cost about 3 Fed rate cuts. this year and about a three-in-four possibility of the first cut in. June.

U.S. yields edged up after a report revealing orders for. long-lasting U.S. manufactured products increased more than. expected in February, while service spending on equipment. revealed tentative indications of healing, improving the economy's. prospects in the very first quarter.

They pulled away a little after the Treasury auctioned $67. billion in five-year notes to strong need.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes. was off 2.5 basis point at 4.228%. The 2-year note. yield, which typically moves in step with rate of interest. expectations, was flat at 4.5868%.

The week's crucial information, the February Personal. Usage Expenditure Rate Index, comes at the end of the. week, when hardly anyone is around to see.

The federal government is open on Great Friday, however bond. and stock markets are closed, so any trade response will begin. Monday.

U.S. unrefined futures settled 0.4 % lower at $81.62. a barrel and Brent settled 0.58% lower at $86.25 per. barrel.

Area gold added 0.24% to $2,176.69 an ounce. U.S. gold futures acquired 0.09% to $2,176.80 an ounce.

bitcoin fell 1.74% to $69,753.73. Ethereum. decreased 1.55% last fetching $3572.7.

(source: Reuters)