Financial Markets Daily Report03 November 2023
In yesterday's session financial markets continued to digest the last US Federal Reserve monetary policy decision, where interest rates were held unchanged at the 5.25%-5.50% target range and President Jerome Powell hinted that we might already be at the peak of the hiking cycle, although new rate hikes were not definitely ruled out.
- In yesterday's session financial markets continued to digest the last US Federal Reserve monetary policy decision, where interest rates were held unchanged at the 5.25%-5.50% target range and President Jerome Powell hinted that we might already be at the peak of the hiking cycle, although new rate hikes were not definitely ruled out.
- In a similar tone, yesterday the Bank of England decided to keep rates unchanged at 5.25% (6 members voted for this decision while 3 voted for hiking them by 25bp). In this context, sovereign bond yields continued to fall on both sides of the Atlantic and euro area peripheral spreads narrowed.
- In stock markets, volatility measured with the VIX index declined and equities registered solid gains across the board. Elsewhere, the US dollar weakened against most of its peers and the euro fluctuated above $1.06.
- Today the focus will be on the October US employment report and US ISM Services index.