Global equity markets refrained from holding any major positions in the holiday truncated week
Aditi Gupta,
Economist,
Bank of Baroda
Mumbai, December 26, 2023: Global markets traded in narrow ranges in the holiday thinned trading week. Data from US late last week showed that PCE index fell by 0.1% in Nov’23 on a MoM basis, noting its first negative reading since Apr’20. On a YoY basis, PCE moderated to 2.6% from 2.9% in Oct’23. Core PCE also moderated to 3.2% from 3.4% in Ocr’23 (YoY). This was also reflected in University of Michigan’s consumer confidence index which rose sharply to 69.7 in Dec’23. New durable goods orders also rose by 5.4% in Nov’23, after falling by 5.1% in Oct’23. On the other hand, new home sales fell by 12.2% to 590,000. Overall investors’ expectations of rate cuts by Fed have strengthened with an almost 75% probability (CME FedWatch) of the first rate cut in Mar’24. On the domestic side, RBI minutes highlighted that MPC members remained wary on inflation amidst the volatility in food prices.
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