U.S. stock futures decreased slightly. People are waiting for a measure of inflation from the Federal Reserve. This measure is important because it will show us what might happen to interest rates. Bitcoin’s value went above $63,000.
Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 both went down by about 0.3%. European stocks slightly increased. The Italian company, Moncler SpA, had better than expected profits and this made its stock go up. But Air France-KLM and Anheuser-Busch InBev had lower profits than expected and their stocks went down.
In Asia shares went up. The yen, Japan’s currency, increased value against the U.S. dollar. This is because a member of the Bank of Japan suggested that they might stop their negative interest rate policy.
Bitcoin’s value increased again after getting to $60,000 for the first time in over two years. Its value nearly reached $64,000.
The return for U.S. government bonds went up. This happened after the returns on bonds went down the day before.
The President of the New York Fed, John Williams, said that the central bank still has work to do to fight inflation. People think that the Fed will ease monetary policy by about 80 basis points before the end of the year. This aligns with what the officials said in December.
The Japanese yen reached a high of 149.61 against the U.S. dollar. This happened as investors prepared for the interest rate difference between Japan and the U.S. to get smaller.
Vocabulary List:
- Futures (noun): Financial contracts obligating the buyer to purchase an asset or the seller to sell an asset at a predetermined future date and price.
- Inflation (noun): An increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy over time.
- Interest Rates (noun): The amount charged by a lender to a borrower for the use of assets or money.
- Value (noun): The monetary worth of something.
- Shares (noun): Units of ownership interest in a corporation or financial asset that provide equal distribution in any profits or dividends.
- Profit (noun): The financial gain or benefit that is achieved when the amount earned is greater than the expenses.
