Fed policy makers will publish their latest forecasts for where they see interest rates heading in the future
US stocks edged slightly higher at the start of a week with several significant events, including inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting on interest rates. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to set a fresh record high. Core CPI is expected to have risen 0.3% month over month in May. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.4%, also setting an all-time high. In individual stocks, shares of Apple gave up nearly 2% after the company unveiled its AI roadmap for the iPhone and the rest of its devices at its WWDC event.
In Asia, equities were mixed on Tuesday in anticipation of US data and a report on inflation in China. The Shanghai Composite lost 0.76% after reopening from a public holiday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 1.04%. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index was up 0.19%, still digesting an upward revision of Japan’s GDP data. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 1.33% and South Korea’s Kospi was 0.15% higher. In general, investors look nervous ahead of Fed meeting as policy makers will be publishing their latest forecasts for where they see interest rates heading in the future.
European stocks were subdued at the open on Tuesday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 down 0.36% after opening in positive territory. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.45% after the data showed that the UK unemployment rate unexpectedly climbed to its highest level in two and a half years. The rate rose to 4.4% from February to April, up from 4.3% previously. Meanwhile, wage growth remained strong. Elsewhere, British computing startup Raspberry Pi rose nearly 40% at its market debut on London’s main exchange.
In currencies, the US dollar keeps rallying for the fourth session in a row, holding around mid-May highs on Tuesday. The USD index briefly jumped to 105.40 at the start of the week before retreating marginally. Still, the greenback remains elevated, staying above the 105.00 psychological support level, with technical picture on the weekly timeframes improving. Later in the week, the dollar would be affected by the outcome of the Fed meeting in combination with US CPI data. A hawkish tone from the central bank would add to the buck’s current bullishness.
