Wall Street up, FTSE closes in the green as concerns about the Fed’s interest rate cycle resurface
A look at how the major markets are performing on Monday
US markets were trading in the green on Monday with the S&P 500 (^GSPC) up 0.3%, the Dow (^DJI) rising 0.1% and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) gaining 0.5%.
"Investors in Europe and the US are preparing for a volatile week as the economic docket is full of fireworks," said Naeem Aslam, chief investment officer at Zaye Capital Markets.
"Since last week, concerns about the Fed’s interest rate cycle have begun to surface once again, as many speculators believe that there are greater chances that the Fed will use more gunshot in terms of interest rate going into the next month's meeting."
In London, the pound and FTSE were positive as upbeat markets continued to digest comments made last week by Bank of England chief Andrew Bailey.
Bailey said that the central bank is "much nearer" to the peak of its rate hiking cycle, meaning hopes of the end of high rates.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) headed 0.8% higher after the opening bell before retreating back down to trade around 0.4% higher at the close. Meanwhile the DAX (^GDAXI) in Germany was up 0.5% and the CAC (^FCHI) rose 0.8%.
The pound (GBPUSD=X) rose past the $1.25 mark, up 0.5% by Monday afternoon in London.
The rise was partly spurred by confidence on home turf, and a pullback in the dollar following comments from US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen that she is "feeling very good" about the US's economic position. This is the pound's first gain in a week.
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