US stock index futures traded higher in early pre-market deals
US stocks fell on Monday as markets struggled to regain the upside momentum following last week’s sell-off that intensified amid rising worries about tighter monetary policy. The Dow Jones slid 0.57%, the S&P 500 slipped 0.67%, and the Nasdaq Composite gave up 1.02%. The aggressive selling from Friday seems to be abating, but investors are likely to stay cautious ahead of more Fed speeches this week before the nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday.
In Asia, equities were mixed on Tuesday as investors are still digesting Powell’s aggressive message on inflation. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.37% lower while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.14%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declined 0.5%, while the Shanghai Composite was 0.42% lower. On the data front, Japan’s jobless rate was unchanged at 2.6% last month, in line with expectations.
As investor sentiment continued to improve gradually, European stocks opened slightly higher after a negative start to the week. The pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.6% in early trade, with UK stocks bucking the trend upon returning from the long weekend. US stock index futures traded higher in early pre-market deals. As for fresh data, Spanish annual inflation has slowed down in August with the monthly estimate showing a 0.1% increase as compared to the 0.3% estimate.
In currencies, the dollar turned slightly positive after yesterday’s retreat while still struggling to regain the 109.00 mark that now represents the immediate upside target for the USD index. As such, EURUSD has steadied around parity, trading in positive territory since Monday. However, the recovery potential remains limited at this stage, with traders staying cautious ahead of fresh economic data out of the US including the employment report.
