![]() home prices softened in January from December, but not as much as economists expected. The job market remains remarkably solid, while smaller corners of the economy have been showing more weakness.Ī report Tuesday showed consumer confidence is strengthening, contrary to expectations.Īnother report suggested U.S. Traders are still largely betting the Fed will have to cut rates as soon as this summer to prop up the economy. Traders placed bets Tuesday that the Fed will raise rates at its next meeting in May, though the slight majority is still calling for it to hold rates steady. But the bank failures showed institutions are vulnerable after earlier hikes caused prices of bonds and other assets on their books to fall. The Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia usually would respond by hiking rates again. banks and one in Switzerland creates a dilemma for central bankers who are trying to cool economic activity and bring down inflation that is near multi-decade highs. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.4% to 11,716.08. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.1% to 3,394.25. First Republic fell 2.3%, while PacWest Bancorp. Most stocks in the index gained, but that was offset by big declines for some banks and modest losses for tech shares. On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 index dipped 0.2% to 3,971.27. ![]() New Zealand declined while Southeast Asian markets rose. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 2.2% to 20,225.65. The Shanghai Composite Index lost less than 0.1% to 3,243.19 while the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo gained 0.4% to 27,625.99. “Clearly, investors have not completely lost their anxiety,” said Robert Carnell and Min Joo Kang of ING in a report. ![]() Some calm has returned after regulators announced measures to shore up the system. Fears that the global banking system might be cracking under the strain of rapid interest rate hikes temporarily pushed aside unease about slowing economic growth.
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