Stocks mixed, futures steady as Fed’s policy woe eases

Bloomberg

Stocks were mixed and US equity futures were steady on Wednesday as investors assessed prospects for an economic recovery, while concern eased that faster inflation would spur policy tightening. Treasuries fall.
Contracts on all three US equity benchmarks were little changed, after two days of gains for the S&P 500 Index. European equities edged lower as a drop in retailers and consumer shares outweighed gains in commodity sectors.
Asian equities advanced.
Oil climbed above $73 a barrel after data signalling another decline in US crude stockpiles added to a bullish outlook.
Markets are steadying this week after last week’s volatility spurred by the Federal Reserve’s hawkish tilt at its meeting. Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank would be patient in waiting to lift borrowing costs, and reiterated that while price increases are bigger than expected, they will likely wane.
The Fed’s shift last week to acknowledge higher inflation and pull forward its rate hike projections is “a reflection of more positive longer-term dynamics,” BlackRock Investment Institute strategists led by Jean Boivin wrote in a report. “We believe the Fed’s new outlook will not translate into significantly higher policy rates any time soon. This, combined with the powerful restart, underpins our pro-risk stance.”
Elsewhere, commodities including copper and iron ore climbed. Bitcoin rebounded, rising past $30,000.
The Stoxx Europe 600 fall 0.3% as of 10:16 am London time and futures on the S&P 500 were little changed.
While futures on the Nasdaq 100 were little changed, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rise 0.1% and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index also climbs 0.3%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index rises 0.9%.
While the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed, the euro was little changed at $1.1937 and the Japanese yen fall 0.2% to 110.91 per dollar. The offshore yuan was little changed at 6.4850 per dollar and the British pound was little changed at $1.3961
The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced one basis point to 1.47% and Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at -0.17%. Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 0.79%
Brent crude rises 1% to $75.57 a barrel and spot gold also rises 0.3% to $1,784.33 an ounce.