A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Ankur Banerjee
Investors have found their appetite for risky assets at the start of a crucial week, drawing on disappointment that China is setting a modest target for economic growth this year, with European shares set to carry the momentum.
With its best weekly performance since the start of the year, the continent-wide STOXX could aim for another record high as traders await January retail sales data for the eurozone later in the day.
Meanwhile, the market’s focus is firmly on Fed Chair Powell’s two-day testimony before the US Congress (on Tuesday and Wednesday) and the February jobs report (due on Friday), which will likely dictate the path of the US central bank in the near future.
While investors have come to accept (sort of) that the Fed is likely to keep interest rates higher for longer, there are new fears that strong economic data will prompt the central bank to go back to jumbo hikes.
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Hawkish rhetoric from Fed speakers continued over the weekend, with San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly the latest warning about the inflation threat.
The market largely expects Powell to be hawkish this week, but given his testimony comes before the jobs report is released, he is likely to aim to keep all options open.
Over in China, the country’s leadership set a 5% target for economic growth this year, which analysts called conservative and pragmatic, as they kicked off the annual session of the National People’s Congress.
In business, Italian state lender CDP has bid for the landline network of former telephone monopoly Telecom Italia, competing with an offer from US firm KKR.
Key developments that could affect markets on Monday:
Economic Events: Eurozone Retail Sales in January, February S&P Global PMIs for Germany, France and the Eurozone
Speakers: ECB Chief Economist Philip Lane
Reporting by Ankur Banerjee; Edited by Edmund Klamann
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