Above-forecast U.S. durable goods orders data on Tuesday bolstered the view of a robust economy, while business spending on equipment showed tentative signs of recovery and consumer confidence held steady.
With the Swiss National Bank having jumped the gun on its major central banking peers last week by cutting interest rates, the Swiss franc leads the way lower against the dollar in Europe and hit its weakest point since November 3 last year.
A growing feeling that other European central banks may move to ease ahead of the Fed has put every central bank meeting under the microscope.
Sweden’s crown touched its weakest levels of the year against both the dollar and euro on Wednesday after the Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank, held its key rate steady at 4% but said inflationary pressures had eased enough for it to make the first of several policy rate cuts in the coming months.
The European Central Bank, meantime, is increasingly confident that inflation will fall back to its 2% target by mid-2025 as wage growth moderates, strengthening the case for lower interest rates, ECB board member Piero Cipollone said.
European stocks were marginally higher on the day, although oil and gas shares there were the biggest drag on the index as crude oil prices ebbed on rising U.S. crude inventories and signs Russia is struggling to get payment for oil shipments amid sanctions threats on related banking flows.
Back on Wall St, the downbeat start to the week for stocks continued on Tuesday – but futures were positive again ahead of Wednesday’s bell. Treasury yields were flat.
In politics, much of the focus on Tuesday was on how shares of Donald Trump’s Trump Media & Technology Group surged as much as 59% in their Nasdaq debut, lifted by the former U.S. president’s supporters and providing him a potential windfall as he grapples with the costs of several legal cases.
But the latest opinion poll trackers show President Joe Biden’s approval ratings among American voters picking up in March to their best levels of the year so far.
