Richard Bernstein Advisor, Deputy CEO, Dan Suzuki, on inflation, interest rates and where the biggest investment opportunities are in reopening trade.
US equities futures traded lower ahead of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s monetary policy.
The major futures indices point to a 0.4% decline when the Wall Street session begins on Thursday.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO by clicking here
Investors heard from Powell last week when he testified before Congress, but the format Thursday will be a question-and-answer session with The Wall Street Journal, which is perhaps more enlightening than Powell’s answers to politicians.
The yield on the standard 10-year treasury note was constant at 1.47% early Thursday.
INVESTORS HAVE THE FOLLOWING STEPS TO BUY AFTER TWO SPECULATION INCREASES
Investors are looking forward to the jobs report in February on Friday. Economists expect employers to create 180,000 jobs last month. The report also contains figures for how much wages are rising in the whole economy, a major component of inflation.
The Labor Department is on track on Thursday with the new claims for unemployment benefits for last week. The expectation is an increase from 20,000 to 750,000.
ADP REPORT SHOWS PRIVATE COMPANIES ADDED 117 FEBRUARY IN FEBRUARY
In Europe, the London FTSE fell by 0.8%, the DAX from Germany by 0.4% and the CAC from France by 0.1%.
Asian stocks fell on Thursday, followed by a fall on Wall Street as another rise in bond yields plagued investors worried that higher inflation could spur central banks to raise ultra-low interest rates.
The Japanese Nikkei 225 lost 2.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong fell 2.2% and the Chinese Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.1%.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 fell 1.3% to 3,819.72, giving an early gain. The setback is the second legal loss of the benchmark index after beating its best day in nine months on Monday.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ek: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 31270.09 | -121.43 | -0.39% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3819,72 | -50.57 | -1.31% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITION INDEX | 12997.751682 | -361.04 | -2.70% |
Technology companies accounted for the bulk of sales, which dropped the S&P 500’s technology sector by 2.5%. Microsoft and Apple both fell by more than 2%.
The Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.4% to 31,270.09. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 2.7%, to 12,997.75.
PRAYER TERMS $ 1,400 STIMULUS SIGNS INCOME LIMITS PRESSED AVERAGE DEMS
Prospects are growing for the passing of President Biden’s $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 assistance package with individual payments of $ 1400, and there was good news about vaccine distribution, so private forecasters were sharpening their economic forecasts .
Many believe that the US economy can see a boom this year with growth being the strongest since 1984. This will be a significant boom from last year when the economy shrank the largest amount since 1946.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
In the other trading session on Thursday, US standard crude oil fell 46 cents to $ 60.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose $ 1.53 to $ 61.28 a barrel on Wednesday. Brent crude, the international standard, lost 41 cents to $ 63.65 a barrel.
Associated Press contributed to this article.