US Equity Futures Slip Ahead of Fed, JGBs Fall – Asia Market Wrap
January 31, 2024
Markets are being driven by bets on monetary policies, with major Asian stocks and US equity contracts falling as traders await the Federal Reserve’s meeting later Wednesday.
Bond traders have reduced their bets on US rate cuts this year, with the chances of a reduction in March falling to approximately one-in-three. Poor economic data from China, as well as a fourth consecutive quarter of profit declines for Samsung, the world’s largest memory chipmaker, weighed on sentiment, adding to the drumbeat of disappointing US tech earnings.
Japanese bond yields surged after a summary of the Bank of Japan meeting indicated that it is coming closer to raising interest rates for the first time since 2007, with one member even warning against passing up the opportunity to move.
