Investors are cautious ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting
Wall Street stocks climbed on Friday, with technology stocks and banks leading much of the gains. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield rose slightly but still was below the 1.6% figure. As such, the benchmark S&P 500 rose 1.09%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.67% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 1.44%.
Today in Asia, equities were mixed as investors refrain from taking on large positions ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting that concludes on Wednesday. Still, the MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reached its highest since March 18 during the session despite a sell-off in Chinese stocks. Nikkei 225 added 0.36% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong shed 0.43%. In Seoul, the Kospi jumped 0.99%. The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.95% while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.21% lower.
European stocks opened slightly higher on Monday as investors express a cautious tone ahead of a busy week. On the data front, the German IFO business climate index came in at 96.8 in April versus last month’s 96.6, missing the consensus estimates of 97.8. The expectations index fell to 99.5 in April from the previous month’s 100.3 reading and better than the market expectations of 101.3.
Meanwhile, the USD index started the week on the defensive below the 91.00 figure but managed to bounce from lows slightly as US 10-year yields gained some traction around 1.58% early in Europe. Now, the market focus shifts to the release of durable goods orders for the month of March due later today.
Elsewhere, bitcoin price extended losses to fresh early-March lows just below the $47,000 figure earlier on Monday before bouncing strongly. The BTCUSD pair jumped above the $50,000 barrier, to touch the $53,000 level in recent trading. If the recovery continues any time soon, the coin could target the $55,000 figure next. However, downside risks continue to persist following last week’s sell-off.
