Increased optimism on Monday resulting from a reported U.S.-China trade truce following the G-20 conference followed by a stronger-than-expected employment report on Friday moved U.S. stock markets higher, strengthened the U.S. dollar and increased the 10-year U.S. Treasury rate.
Increased optimism on Monday resulting from a reported U.S.-China trade truce following the G-20 conference followed by a stronger-than-expected employment report on Friday moved U.S. stock markets higher, strengthened the U.S. dollar and increased the 10-year U.S. Treasury rate.
Comments from U.S Federal Reserve Bank officials, including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, lowered expectations of of two rate cuts this year, pushing U.S stock markets slightly lower while leaving the U.S. dollar practically unchanged.
Despite ECB statements indicating more stimulus would be needed and greatly increased tensions between the U.S. and Iran precipitated by Iran’s shooting down of a U.S. drone on Thursday, the U.S. dollar sharply weakened following U.S. Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments – at the end of the 2-day FOMC meeting – that the Fed would act as needed to sustain economic growth.
il tanker attacks attributed to Iran by both the U.S. and Britain, better-than-expected U.S and weaker than expected China economic rerpots combined to push the U.S. dollar higher and leave both 10-year U.S. Treasury rates and the S&P 500 index practically unchanged from the previous week.
Continued concerns of weaker global and U.S. growth, driven by U.S-China trade frictions and economic reports pointing to slowdowns in the EU, China and the U.S, helped push commodity and stock markets lower last week.