The release will be watched closely to see how it could affect the Fed’s interest rate path
Wall Street stocks slid Wednesday as investors looked ahead to a personal consumption expenditure reading, which is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. The S&P 500 gave up 0.17%, the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.55%, and the Dow Jones shed less than 0.1% to notch a third straight session of losses. On the data front, a report showed that the U.S. economy grew a touch slower in the fourth quarter than earlier estimated. For the week so far, the S&P 500 is down 0.4%, the Dow is down 0.5%, and the Nasdaq gives up 0.3%.
In Asia, equities were mixed in a flat-to-high range on Thursday after a bearish session in the US. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 0.03% to erase early losses even as the data showed factory output fell last month at the fastest pace since May 2020. On the positive side, Japanese retail sales were stronger than expected. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng shed 0.15% and the Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.94%. South Korea’s Kospi slipped 0.37% while the S&P/ASX 200 in Australia edged 0.5% higher.
European stock markets opened marginally higher today as investors look ahead to key inflation data. The Stoxx 600 index was up 0.15% in early deals, with sectors mixed. US stock index futures were little changed in early pre-market deals as investors are cautious ahead of an inflation report. The US PCE index is expected to have dipped from 2.9% to 2.8% in January. The release will be watched closely to see how it could affect the Fed’s interest rate path.
Meanwhile, the US dollar is marginally lower after yesterday’s gains that were capped by the 104.25 intermediate resistance. After a rejection from local highs, the USD index slid back below the 104.00 figure, with the immediate support coming at 103.75. Should the PCE report disappoint, the selling pressure surrounding the greenback may intensify later in the day. In a wider picture, the dollar looks relatively steady, albeit the buying interest has ebbed since a failure to overcome the 105.00 hurdle earlier in the month.