Japan’s index is closing in on February’s high, the highest level since the 1990 crash. China’s Shanghai Composite is also at its highest since February, now up nearly 5% on the month and 12% since the July low.
It’s important to note the ongoing differences between the ADP private payrolls survey and the official Nonfarm Payroll report due this Friday. Over the last 3 months, CNBC noted an average difference of 337,000 jobs between the reports.
Federal Reserve wants to be able to taper assets, but the reemergence of another Covid wave has buoyed markets, specifically Tech, as it may elongate the Fed’s path.
The Delta Variant grabbed headlines yesterday and markets reacted. Tech stocks led the way as traders and managers pulled out their 2020 Covid-19 playbooks.
U.S. benchmarks have continued their rebound from last week’s healthy pullback. After a quiet overnight session, the S&P is staring down the barrel at its all-time high. The Nasdaq has already set a fresh record for the second straight session.
A very minor shift in the Fed’s rate hike expectations has roiled risk assets and strengthened the U.S. Dollar. Via their dot plot, committee members now anticipate 2 rate hikes through the end of 2023.
Fridays have typically been strong when such green lights have emerged and although stocks finished higher, it was broadly a lackluster session. What changed?
This week builds up into Thursday’s monumental inflation data, ECB meeting, and Initial Jobless Claims. Portfolio managers and traders want to be long risk assets such as stocks and commodities, but fear inflation that has begun to run hot.
