Stock indices set back on hawkish worries and Google concerns, global bond yields rise

Macroeconomic/ geopolitical developments

• A relatively light week for macroeconomic data and fundamental events last week after the MASSIVE prior week through the turn of the month.
• The “risk on” theme extended early in the week after Fed Chair Powell reiterated views on disinflation, for a perceived still dovish tone.

• But subsequent comments through the week from various FOMC Members were of a more hawkish tone.
• Alphabet shares led the tech sector lower, with Google’s parent falling around 10% for the week after a report that Bard (Google’s AI chatbot), made a mistake in its first public demonstration.

• This comes on concerns regarding Google’s ability to maintain its dominance in internet search given the success of rival chatbots, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity.

Global financial market developments

• The major US, European and Asian stock averages saw modest corrective losses last week.
• US and European Bond yields were notably higher last week.
• The US Dollar Index stayed solid last week, building on the prior week’s strong rebound from a new multi-month low.
• Gold stayed negative after the prior weekly plunge from a multi-month high.
• Oil surged from close to multi-month lows, to reverse much of the late January-early February sell off.
• Copper stayed negative after the previous week’s sell off from near multi-month highs, for a still negative tone.

Key this week

• Central Bank Watch: No standout or significant Central Bank events.
• Macroeconomic data: A busy week for data, US CPI is the standout on Tuesday, but we also get US Retail Sales, plus from the UK, the Employment report, CPI and Retail Sales, as well as EU and Japanese GDP.

Steve Miley (The Market Chartist)

Editor in chief

Steve Miley is the Market Chartist and has 32 years of financial market experience and as a seasoned expert now has many responsibilities. He is the founder, Director and Primary Analyst at The Mar... Continued