Weekly Market Preview
Friday, 09 August 2024
Markets have regained most of the losses incurred at the beginning of last week, following a sharp decline in risk appetite. This drop was triggered by the Bank of Japan’s unexpected decision to raise interest rates more than anticipated and hint at the possibility of further hikes, which caused a steep decline in Japanese stock prices. Additionally, a worse-than-expected US jobs report heightened investor fears of a potential recession in the US economy. However, markets rebounded after the Bank of Japan indicated that no further action would be taken until market conditions stabilized. Further relief came with the last week’s jobless claims data, which suggested that the US labour market is not as weak as initially feared.
This week, investors are closely watching key economic data, including the Producer Price Index (PPI), Consumer Price Index (CPI), and US retail sales figures. These reports will offer a clearer view of the US economy’s performance and help predict the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision in September. Notably, the YoY CPI data is expected to decrease from 3.0% in June to 2.9% in July, while YoY core CPI is projected to decline from 3.3% in June to 3.2% in July. Should the data come in lower than expected, it could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to implement a 50-basis point rate cut at its next meeting.