Headlines:
- Dollar holds steady so far, more US data to follow later
- ECB's Schnabel: We must be cautious not to adjust policy stance prematurely
- ECB's Villeroy: There is still the question of exact timing for rate cut
- BOJ's Ueda reaffirms focus on the outcome of spring wage negotiations
- BOJ's Ueda says expects real wages to gradually turn positive
- UK January retail sales +3.4% vs +1.5% m/m expected
- Germany January wholesale price index +0.1% vs -0.6% m/m prior
- France January final CPI +3.1% vs +3.1% y/y prelim
Markets:
- NZD leads, JPY lags on the day
- European equities higher; S&P 500 futures up 0.2%
- US 10-year yields up 2.4 bps to 4.263%
- Gold up 0.2% to $2,007.53
- WTI crude down 0.6% to $77.57
- Bitcoin up 1.7% to $52,250
It was a quiet session for FX but stocks are continuing to rip higher as we look to close out the week.
European indices remain buoyed as both the DAX and CAC 40 rise up to fresh record highs. US futures are also sitting higher as tech shares are once again leading the charge, putting the post-CPI drop well in the rear view mirror.
The optimistic mood there hasn't translated much to broader markets though. Major currencies are relatively muted with the dollar little changed mostly on the day. USD/JPY is up slightly to 150.20 but it owes to a slight nudge higher in bond yields. Overall, it isn't anything to shout about though.
Let's see what the US data later has to say before wrapping things up on the week.
In non-market related news, Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has reportedly died in prison. The spokesperson for Navalny said that his death could not be confirmed just yet with his lawyer said to be travelling to the IK-3 penal colony, where he is believed to be taken to serve his prison sentence.
In 2021, US president Biden said that if Navalny were to die in prison, Russia would have to deal with "devastating" consequences. As you can well tell by now, it's all a load of fluff.