A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee:
Investors are holding back on big bets as COVID curbs in China keep risk appetite in check, while the focus is shifting firmly to the Fed minutes due to be released later on Wednesday.
The market has been looking, almost clamouring, for signs of slowdown in the pace of interest rate hikes. The oft-looked-for but not-yet-sighted Fed pivot might be on the horizon. Or so the market hopes.
Wednesday also happens to be PMI day with preliminary November readings scheduled to be released across the globe, with data from the UK and euro zone likely to take the centre stage.
And so, the dollar remains on guard, Asian equities mostly tracked Wall Street gains and gold stayed flat.
The tentativeness among investors is in stark contrast with the soccer world, which remains in shock after Saudi Arabia came from behind to beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the World Cup.
Sticking with football (erm soccer), the owners of English Premier League giants Manchester United have started the process of potentially selling the club. The move from Glazer family comes weeks after bitter rival Liverpool also announced they were exploring a sale.
Meanwhile, sky-high inflation remains difficult to tame, with New Zealand’s central bank delivering its biggest interest rate hike and outlining a more hawkish monetary tightening path in coming months. The central bank warned the economy might have to spend an entire year in recession to bring inflation under control.
Elsewhere, the turmoil in the crypto world rumbles on, with New York Times reporting that Genesis Global Capital has hired investment bank Moelis & Company to explore options including a potential bankruptcy for the troubled cryptocurrency lender.
The first bankruptcy hearing for FTX showed that the collapsed crypto exchange has been the subject of cyberattacks and had “substantial” assets missing.
Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:
Economic events: November flash PMI data from Europe, UK
Speakers: Bank of England’s Huw Pill, UK finance minister Jeremy Hunt answers budget questions from House of Commons’ Treasury Committee
Riksbank to hold monetary policy meeting
Graphic: Central banks ramp up fight against inflation – https://graphics.reuters.com/NEWZEALAND-ECONOMY/RATES/gkplwgbrjvb/chart.png
Graphic: The race to raise rates – https://graphics.reuters.com/NEWZEALAND-ECONOMY/RATES/dwvkdrkoapm/chart.png
(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Anshuman Daga and Sam Holmes)
