(CTN News) – Asian markets declined on Tuesday as investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting in an effort to ascertain the timetable and extent of any interest rate reductions this year. However, the dollar remained stable.
Gold retreated from its all-time high on Monday, whereas crude oil declined on concerns that US interest rates would remain elevated for an extended period of time and Fed officials maintained a cautious posture regarding the recent deceleration of inflation.
As rumors circulated that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might authorize an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for spot ether, the prices of bitcoin and ether reached new highs for the sixth consecutive week.
The markets presently value the Federal Reserve rate cuts this year at approximately 41 basis points. In November, a quarter-point reduction is fully factored in.
Following three months of unexpectedly positive results at the start of the year, April consumer price pressures moderated, according to data released earlier this month. Consequently, traders rushed to reintroduce softening wagers.On Monday, Vice Chairs Philip Jefferson and Michael Barr issued statements emphasizing the need for additional time to implement restrictive policy and that it is premature to ascertain whether the slowdown is “permanent.”
Officials at the Federal Reserve are cautious about dropping inflation.
Although the deliberations occurred prior to the CPI reading that was comparatively weaker last week, the imminent minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve meeting, scheduled for release on Wednesday, might provide valuable insights into the trajectory of future policy.
The decline of 1.9% in the Hang Seng from its all-time high on Monday was a contributing factor to the 0.9% decline observed in MSCI’s widest index of Asia-Pacific equities excluding Japan.
The overnight gains of the Nasdaq were mirrored by the technology-heavy Nikkei of Japan, which peaked at a new level before retreating 0.1%. The decline in Nasdaq futures was 0.06%. Following a 0.1% increase on Monday, S&P 500 futures remained unchanged.
Kyle Rodda, senior markets analyst at Capital.com, wrote in a report that “insigned volatility remains low, bolstered by increased confidence in US rate cuts this year, which maintains relatively robust market sentiment.”
In the interim, record highs for precious metals such as gold and copper “are being cited as an indication that global economic activity is improving, which may be a factor in the persistence of inflation,” as stated by Rodda.
Gold fell 0.3% overnight to $2,417 per ounce, after Fed briefly tested $2,450.
The dollar index remained unchanged at 104.62, and the greenback recovered from its five-week low of 104.07. This occurred as the greenback maintained its position against key competitors.
On Monday, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes rose by 1.7 basis points, but remained relatively unchanged at 4.4433%.
The price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil decreased by 0.7% to $79.22, while Brent crude futures declined by the same amount to $83.17.
Meanwhile, as investors flocked to Fed cryptocurrencies in response to a report suggesting that the SEC had abruptly requested exchanges wishing to trade ETFs to update their regulatory paperwork, Monday’s top performers surged to all-time highs, generating optimism that clearance would be granted this week.
Since April 9, both ether and bitcoin have reached all-time highs, with ether peaked at $3,720.80 and peaked at $71,957.
According to Tony Sycamore, an IG analyst, “speculation surrounding the ether ETF has certainly played its part in the move, throwing fuel on the crypto bull market bonfire that had reignited after last week’s cooler US CPI data.”
Prior to endeavoring to reach $80,000, bitcoin, according to Sycamore, will retest its all-time high of $73,803.25.
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