Stocks gain ahead of central bank speeches
investmentnews.comStocks made small gains in holiday-thinned trading as traders turned their attention to a line-up of central bank speeches this week.
S&P 500 futures and Europe’s Stoxx 600 added 0.2%, following similar gains in Asia. Trading volumes were lower than average after UK and Japanese markets shut for a holiday. German 10-year yields fell for a third day and the yen weakened. Oil advanced after Saudi Arabia raised prices for grades to Asia.
With a light US economic calendar this week, the market’s direction may come from central bank officials, as well as policy meetings in the UK, Australia and Sweden. Stocks rallied last week after slowdown in US jobs led traders to revive their bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts.
European Central Bank Chief Economist Philip Lane said recent data have made him more certain that inflation is returning to the 2% goal, according to an interview with Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, raising the likelihood a first interest-rate cut in June. New York Fed President John Williams and the Richmond Fed’s Thomas Barkin are due to make remarks on Monday, followed by Neel Kashkari of Minneapolis on Tuesday.
“This week is expected to be calmer on the economic front: few economic data releases and limited central bankers’ intervention,” wrote Credit Agricole strategists led by Jean-Francois Paren.
At Morgan Stanley, strategists are already starting to hone in on the importance of next week’s US inflation print for April. “The price reaction on the back of this release may be more important than the data itself given how influential price action has been on investor sentiment amid an uncertain macro set up,” Michael Wilson wrote in a note.
In Asia, Chinese shares led gains as mainland markets played
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