Stocks mixed, greenback gains as traders await US economic data

BLOOMBERG

Stocks were mixed while the dollar rebounded from its weakest level in almost three months as traders awaited of a slew of US economic data before markets pause for holidays in America and Japan. Futures on the S&P 500 were flat and those on Nasdaq 100 slipped after a tepid reaction from investors to Nvidia Corp’s earnings. The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged higher. News of Sam Altman’s return to OpenAI after days of drama, failed to ignite risk-on sentiment. Treasury yields were steady.
Data on US jobless claims, durable- and capital-goods orders and consumer sentiment on Wednesday may provide clues on the direction of monetary policy after minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last rates meeting revealed that officials remain in cautious mode. Policymakers united around a strategy to “proceed carefully” on future interest-rate moves and base any further tightening on progress toward their inflation goal. Swap contracts linked to Fed meetings currently price in around a 25% probability of a first rate cut in March, slightly lower than before publication of the FOMC minutes. “The fact that markets are considering the potential for rates to be lowered in the first quarter at all does indicate that it’s going to be pretty hard slating for the
US dollar at this stage,” Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac Banking Corp, said on Bloomberg Television.
As the Fed’s December meeting approaches, “markets would be looking for a change of language that really dials down the threat of further hikes,” he said. Among individual movers in Europe, accounting-software maker Sage Group Plc gained after an earnings beat. Steelmaker Thyssenkrupp AG climbed after reporting fourth-quarter results. A gauge of Asian equities fell as artificial intelligence stocks slid. Mainland Chinese shares were on the back foot, with tech and
industrial companies among the laggards. Cryptocurrencies declined after Binance Holdings Ltd and its Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao pleaded guilty to money laundering and sanctions violations under a sweeping settlement with the US that allows the cryptocurrency exchange to continue operating. Bitcoin and BNB — the token linked to Changpeng Zhao’s Binance ecosystem — slipped.