(Bloomberg) — U.S. futures were steady with stocks as investors weighed prospects for economic growth against inflation worries ahead of testimony from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Oil retreated.
Contracts on U.S. equity gauges were little changed after the S&P 500 Index’s biggest jump in a month. In Europe, declines in shares of carmakers and banks offset gains in real estate stocks. A gauge of Asian equities rose the most in about three weeks, boosted by Japan.
U.S. 10-year Treasuries rose, as did the dollar. Brent oil fell after climbing to $75 a barrel for the first time in more than two years as traders awaited cues from OPEC+ on its response to a rapidly tightening market.
Bitcoin sank closer to $30,000 after China intensified its cryptocurrency clampdown.
Investors are parsing policymakers’ statements on stimulus after the Fed’s hawkish tilt last week whipsawed the reflation trade. Yields on longer-dated Treasuries rebounded in the U.S. session Monday, even as short-end rates remained anchored, undoing some of the curve-flattening that swept across markets after the Fed meeting.
While inflation has picked up “notably” in recent months, it should move back toward the central bank’s 2% target once supply imbalances resolve, Powell reiterated in written remarks prepared for his Tuesday testimony before the House Select Subcommittee on pandemic aid.
Other officials have weighed in too. New York Fed President John Williams said he continues to view the recent spike in inflation as a temporary phenomenon, while his Dallas counterpart Robert Kaplan said he favors starting the process of reducing bond purchases “sooner rather than later.” St. Louis’s James Bullard called it “appropriate” that policy makers opened the taper debate.
“There’s probably going to be some back and forth here,” said Tracie McMillion, Wells Fargo Investment Institute head of global asset allocation strategy. “There is a lot of cash on the sidelines right now. Some of that is going to be earmarked to go into the markets, and we think the best place right now to be investing is in the equity markets.”
For more market commentary, follow the MLIV blog.
Here are some events to watch this week:
Fed Chair Jerome Powell testifies at a House Subcommittee hearing on the Fed’s pandemic emergency lending and its asset purchase programs TuesdayBank of England interest rate decision Thursday
These are some of the main moves in financial markets:
Stocks
Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed as of 6:42 a.m. New York timeFutures on the Nasdaq 100 were little changedFutures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changedThe Stoxx Europe 600 was little changedThe MSCI World index rose 0.1%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.3%The euro fell 0.2% to $1.1890The British pound fell 0.4% to $1.3872The Japanese yen fell 0.1% to 110.42 per dollar
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined two basis points to 1.47%Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.18%Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.76%
Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.7% to $73.17 a barrelGold futures were little changed
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