Wall Street still doesn’t seem to want to take a break. US futures are still in the green the day after a 35th record for the S&P500 in 2024. The trend could nevertheless vary in one direction or the other with the intervention of the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, before the Senate Banking Committee (4 p.m.).
Investors will be watching for any indication from the leader on when policymakers might be able to cut interest rates. According to the Fedwatch barometer, investors are betting more than 77% on a quarter-point interest rate cut in September. “With recent signs of slowing growth and the labor market, markets will be watching closely to see if Powell gives any indication on the timing of rate cuts,” said Carol Kong, a strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “The market may price in a September cut further and the U.S. dollar could fall further if Powell’s comments are perceived as dovish.” “Markets expect the recent data to be enough for Jerome Powell to open the door to a September rate cut, the first of this cycle and originally expected in January,” Rabobank strategists added.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will also testify later today before the House Financial Services Committee, while Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr and Governor Michelle Bowman will also speak. Traders are also keeping an eye on US political news as Joe Biden’s candidacy becomes more controversial than ever.
The euro/dollar parity reached $1.0815. A barrel of Brent crude was trading at $85.4. An ounce of gold was trading at $2,358 and Bitcoin rose 0.2% to $57,300. Finally, the ten-year Treasury yield rose 1.6 bp to 4.294%.
Values
* Boeing. A United Airlines plane lost a landing gear wheel Monday while taking off from Los Angeles but landed safely in Denver, its intended destination. The wheel from the Boeing 757-200 on United Flight 1001 was recovered in the California city. No one was reported injured, an airline spokesman said. The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday also ordered inspections of 2,600 Boeing 737s because passenger oxygen masks may not work in an emergency. There have been several reports of oxygen generators moving around, a problem that could result in the inability to deliver oxygen to passengers if the plane loses pressure. Boeing issued a notice June 17 to airlines asking them to conduct visual inspections, according to the FAA.
* JP Morgan. The U.S. Federal Reserve is considering changing the rules for calculating systemic overburden at the nation’s eight largest banks, saving them billions of dollars in capital.
* KKR: The private equity firm is considering selling half of its 43% stake in Japanese semiconductor equipment maker Kokusai Electric, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
* Johnson & Johnson. US group Emergent BioSolutions said Johnson & Johnson had agreed to pay $50 million to settle claims related to the end of a contract to manufacture its Covid-19 vaccine.
* Eli Lilly. The publication of a data analysis shows that the American group’s treatment against obesity, Mounjaro, leads to faster and more significant weight loss than that of its competitor Novo Nordisk.
* Pfizer announced that its chief scientific officer, Mikael Dolsten, who played a key role in the development of the group’s vaccine against Covid-19, would be leaving his position after more than 15 years of career within the laboratory.
