European Stocks Diverge, Markets Dig Into Fed Signals & Flood of Earnings Reports
European stocks moved mixed on Thursday, as investors digested a flood of quarterly earnings reports from major companies, shortly after the Fed decided to hold interest rates. Early in the morning, the German DAX fell 0.7%, while the French CAC 40 rose 0.9% and the UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.6%.
In the US, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady after a series of cuts late last year. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized that the central bank needs greater confidence that inflation is truly declining steadily toward its 2% target before easing policy again, although he acknowledged that economic growth remains quite resilient. Powell's tone led the market to interpret the Fed as being more cautious and unwilling to act rashly.
However, market expectations remain that another rate cut could occur in the second half of the year. The CME's FedWatch tool indicates that market participants believe the Fed will remain on hold in the near term, but the possibility of two cuts by the end of the year remains open. In Europe, the next focus will be on the release of January Eurozone consumer confidence and business sentiment data, which are expected to improve and could influence market direction. (az)
Source: Newsmaker.id
