Markets Wait For Jerome Powell's Speech

Anxiety ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Monday kept market sentiment subdued. Key economic data from the U.S. due during the week including PMI, JOLTs Job Openings and the monthly non-farm payrolls report also added to the market’s nervousness.

The CME Group’s closely monitored FedWatch Tool that tracks the expectations of interest rate traders now places a 42-percent chance of a half-point cut and a 58-percent probability of a quarter-point easing by the Federal Reserve in the next review in November.

Wall Street Futures are trading in negative territory. European benchmarks are also trading lower despite inflation in Germany falling more than expected. China led Asian markets in finishing trading on a strong positive note. The Nikkei however plunged amidst fears of a potentially hawkish monetary policy.

Dollar Index is trading below the flatline. Bond yields hardened across regions. Crude oil prices are trading slightly above the flatline. Gold extended losses. Most of the top-ranked cryptocurrencies are trading on a negative note.

Here is a snapshot of the major world markets at this hour.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 42,246.00, down 0.16%
S&P 500 (US500) at 5,722.40, down 0.27%
Germany’s DAX at 19,336.25, down 0.74%
U.K.’s FTSE 100 at 8,269.65, down 0.61%
France’s CAC 40 at 7,653.45, down 1.78%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 5,014.45, down 1.05%
Japan’s Nikkei 225 at 37,903.00, down 4.82%
Australia’s S&P ASX 200 at 8,269.80, up 0.70%
China’s Shanghai Composite at 3,336.50, up 8.06%
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng at 21,133.68, up 2.43%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.1197, up 0.30%
GBP/USD at 1.3402, up 0.22%
USD/JPY at 142.74, up 0.39%
AUD/USD at 0.6926, up 0.34%
USD/CAD at 1.3516, up 0.03%
Dollar Index at 100.26, down 0.12%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 3.781%, up 0.78%
Germany at 2.1535%, up 0.63%
France at 2.953%, up 0.92%
U.K. at 4.0470%, up 1.68%
Japan at 0.863%, up 0.94%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Dec) at $71.62, up 0.11%.
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Nov) at $68.20, up 0.03%.
Gold Futures (Dec) at $2,659.00, down 0.34%.

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $63,814.74, down 2.87%
Ethereum at $2,629.20, down 0.89%
BNB at $573.96, down 3.99%
Solana at $154.91, down 1.20%
XRP at $0.6288, up 0.62%.