The current spread levels in the U.S. credit market are not unusual, as there have been previous periods when corporates have traded at similar or even lower levels.
One of the handful of companies bucking the trend last week was Nvidia. The company reported that its Q1 sales tripled from a year ago.
Plans for big-ticket purchases remained depressed with elevated prices, steep borrowing costs and reduced credit availability weighing on ordering activity. Finally, Americans called the odds for recession likely while CEOs were more sanguine, sustaining odds of roughly 35%.
Market participants are pressing the pause button on Wall Street’s recent stock rally as they sift through a buffet of remarks from Fed speakers. Federal Reserve speakers yesterday emphasized that the current fed funds rate is restrictive and is likely to continue to support disinflation, but more evidence is needed that price pressures are easing in a sustainable manner before the central bank lowers rates.
Fed policy has a heightened data dependency, leading to increased volatility in the bond market. Even though rate cuts remain the odds-on favorite for later this year, investors should heed the tenor of recent Fed-speak, which reinforced the notion of rates being higher for longer.
A cooler-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) report sparked a broad-based rally as the upbeat news raised investors’ hopes for a rate cut.
As the US election draws closer, greater investor attention is warranted on how to align market views with the potential November outcome. In this article, we consider which equity sectors could benefit or lose out depending on the election results.
On the good news front, CPI was indeed modestly market friendly. Stocks took the lower yields as a good sign
Markets are rallying with this morning’s weaker-than-expected economic data dampening concerns of a prolonged journey across the monetary policy bridge.
Stocks notched a solid gain last week as rate-cut expectations paced the rally as the Q1 earnings season wound down.