As traders weighed the impact of more stiff sanctions on Russia, the U.S. equity future slipped lower on Monday. Asian stocks are expected to boost China’s move that eases the dispute, which puts the Chinese firm’s U.S. listings in danger.
As per Bloomberg News, the futures contracts rose in Hongkong and Chinese Tech firms could get a tailwind after the regulators removed key hurdles impeding full U.S. audits. Japan and Australian contracts already point to steady starts on Monday.
The U.S. dollar remained firm after investors evaluated the push by some European Union governments for fresh sanctions on Russia following new reports emerging Russian troops executed civilians who were unarmed in Ukraine towns.
After the U.S. government announced that it was releasing an unprecedented amount of oil from its strategic reserves to fight increased energy costs, the price of crude oil declined.
More warnings are being flashed by the U.S. treasury yield curve that points to slow economic growth. Federal Reserve hikes interest rates to tame commodities inflation. The yield on a two-year U.S. bond is more than the 30-year rate for the first time since 2007.
The meeting of the Fed this week will provide views on the odds of an interest rate hike in May by half a percentage point and provide details on how the Federal Reserve will control the balance sheet.
As per a note from Evergreen Consultants Founder and Director Angela Ashton, the yield is expected to rise further and challenging to know where it will land as the markets are volatile.
On Saturday, John Williams, the Fed president of New York, said that rates could get back to normal after undertaking steps. According to Mary Daly, the Fed president of San Francisco, a half-point hike in May is possible given the tight labor market and rising inflation.
Friday report saw the vital jobs bolstering the case of the fed pushing the borrowing costs. The U.S. generated 431,000 jobs in March while the unemployment rate fell to its near pandemic lows at 3.6%.
In China, markets were closed for the holiday. Most of the 25 million population in Shanghai was also under the Covid lockdown. The state media reported a new omicron variant.
Some of the main developments in the markets:
Stocks
- S&P 500 futures fell 0.1 % in Tokyo, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.3 %
- Nasdaq 100 futures declined by 0.2%
- Hang Seng Index futures saw a 0.7% increase
Currencies
- Japanese Yen traded at 122.67 a dollar
- The dollar was equal to 6.37 06 Offshore Yuan
- Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was up by 0.1 %
Bonds
- The yield on 10-year treasuries advanced to 2.38%, up by four percentage basis points.
Commodities
- Gold traded at $1923.27 per ounce
- West Texas crude oil fell to $98.67 a barrel
