020 7898 0500Much like what happened in Europe, US markets opened higher in response to the relief that Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election, then promptly dipped. Again, as with European markets, there seem to be concerns about whether Macron will be able to implement his reforms.
Meanwhile, the confidence in a Federal Reserve interest rate hike in June could soon slip, as St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard struck a dovish tone, stating that continued strong demand for safe assets – as well as sluggish growth in the US workforce – will hold down US interest rates for the foreseeable future. However, another Fed official, Loretta Mester, said she would be against any delays towards tightening and urged further rate hikes and a trimming of the balance sheet this year. The two contrasting views netted fairly evenly on the market.
Looking to the day ahead, there isn’t a huge amount of data. Later in the week however, there is a consumer theme to the schedule, with US retail sales and the Michigan measure of consumer sentiment for May, which is forecast to stay high.
