Modest drops seen on Wall Street as Powell voices caution on interest rate cuts

The trade overview includes current reports, trends, indices, stock prices, bonds, foreign exchange, commodities, and analyst recommendations. At 17:30, there were slight declines on Wall Street after Powell’s speech at the central bank conference in Portugal. The Dow Jones was down 0.1%, while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 were trading close to the base rate. A new US study by CCData suggests that Bitcoin is expected to soar to an all-time high this year after peaking at $73,000 per coin in March.

The Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, expressed satisfaction with US interest rates over the past year but wants to see more tapering before considering cutting interest rates. Despite Powell’s optimism, he is concerned about cutting rates too early and mentioned the risk of hampering falling prices. Trading opened with falling rates on Wall Street, with Tesla announcing that it delivered 443,956 cars in the second quarter of 2024.

In Europe, stock markets saw declines, with the French CAC and British FTSE indices down by 0.5% and the German DAX index losing about 1%. As trading continued in Europe, the declines intensified, with the DAX down 1.3% and POTSI down 0.6%, while the French CAC index fell by 1.1%. The price of oil approached a two-month high due to regional tensions and concerns about the Atlantic hurricane season.

The Antitrust Commissioner in France may accuse Nvidia of anti-competitive behavior, causing the stock to drop only slightly. The Japanese yen reached a new low against the dollar. Analysts have varying views on the impact of a potential Republican victory on bond markets, with some recommending hedging against inflation and others recommending not to draw premature conclusions. The week ahead is expected to be influenced by key data and events, including the US monthly unemployment figures and Fed Chairman Powell’s speech at a central bank conference in Portugal.