Action in stock markets around the world has been mixed overnight. The Nikkei, Hang Seng and Dow futures are all down slightly, the Dax is up slightly, and the FTSE plus NASDAQ futures are both up about 0.5%. Commodities are down again today with WTI crude oil falling 0.8% and copper sliding 0.5%. Cryptocurrencies are under pressure again with Bitcoin and Ethereum both down about 7.0%, in what could be investors retrenching, or an overnight worldwide drug bust that reportedly included seizures of both cryptocurrencies and traditional cash.
It is a pretty quiet day for economic, corporate and political news but could be the calm before the storm with a number of significant meetings scheduled over the next ten days. Tomorrow, the Bank of Canada holds a regular meeting, followed by the European Central Bank on Thursday. No changes to monetary policy are expected but investors may look to the statements for commentary on the state of their respective economies and the impact of lockdowns. The Bank of Canada may also be expected to comment on the country’s hot housing market.
A number of significant political meetings are coming up as well, including a new round of talks between the US and allies with Iran (which could impact the oil market if sanctions are eventually eased), the G-7 leaders summit this weekend, a NATO summit next Monday and US President Biden Meeting with Russian President Putin next Wednesday.
The main economic report this week, US consumer price inflation comes out on Thursday which could indicate to investors whether or how much pressure the Fed is under to start cutting back on monetary stimulus or if it has the room to let things run as happened with last Friday’s Goldilocks nonfarm payrolls report.
