That’s not to say all has gone quiet. A U.S. base in Syria was the target of a rocket attack on Sunday, ostensibly from Iraq-based Hezbollah fighters.
And beyond the Middle East, the other weights on world stocks – which dragged them to their worst week in more than a year – still linger, namely later Fed rate cuts and caution over chip sector earnings.
Evidence of the latter was on display in Japan, with the tech-heavy Nikkei’s 0.7% rise lagging a 1.3% jump for the broader Topix.
In a relatively light week for macro data and events, the headliner is the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting on Friday, when new inflation forecasts are due, even if economists consider it too soon for another rate hike.
For the United States, the main focus is Friday’s PCE deflator, the Fed’s preferred consumer price gauge. No Fedspeak will be forthcoming, as we enter the blackout period before next week’s policy decision. But the message of late from every Fed official has been the same: no rush to cut.
