Top 5 things to watch in markets in the week ahead
Investing.com — Central bank decisions will be front and center in what’s set to be an action-packed week as investors attempt to gauge how close the Federal Reserve is to cutting rates. The Bank of Japan appears to be shaping up to exit negative interest rates after months of anticipation. Meanwhile, AI darling Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) is to hold a closely watched developer conference. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.
Last week’s hotter-than-expected U.S. producer and consumer price data prompted traders to rein in bets on future cuts from the Fed.
All eyes are now on Wednesday’s Fed meeting and any clues on the central bank's outlook for rate cuts, the resilience of the U.S. economy and the possibility of an inflationary rebound.
Earlier this month Fed Chair Jerome Powell said officials have “gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably” toward the central bank’s 2% goal but added that they want more evidence that inflation is slowing before they begin easing.
“We think that the Fed is still likely to ease at mid-year (June or July), but the FOMC meeting will keep us squarely in the wait-and-see period by another one or two meeting cycles, with Jay Powell repeating that he needs a “little bit more” evidence that disinflation is sustainable before he would cut the Fed Funds rate target” analysts at Macquarie said in a note.
Tuesday’s BOJ meeting could be one of the most consequential in years with officials set to decide whether to end eight years of negative interest rates in what would mark a landmark shift away from its huge stimulus program.
Japan’s Nikkei newspaper reported Saturday that the BOJ is expected to end its negative interest rate policy this week after the countries biggest
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