Stock markets struggle for direction, but long-end Treasury rates are dropping. Powell is likely to repeat a “gradualist” mantra.
- Stock markets are struggling for direction, but long-end Treasury rates are dropping.
- Fed Chair Powell will likely repeat a familiar “gradualist” mantra in testimony.
- U.S. CPI inflation and retail sales data may leave concern about growth intact.
Wall Street struggled to shrug off another rough start of trading last week, this time thanks to confusion about U.S. tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. The bellwether S&P 500 index fell 0.3%, marking a second consecutive decline. The tech-tilted Nasdaq 100 fared only a bit better, finishing flat after losing 1.5% in the previous week.
However, most of the action was in the bond market. Steady Federal Reserve policy bets made for stability at the front end of the yield curve, but longer-dated…
