Global equities fell and U.S. Treasury yields rose on Wednesday ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes that are expected to reveal the extent of officials’ aggressive stance on interest rates and inflation.
The July meeting minutes, due to be published on Wednesday, could signal whether the U.S. central bank would likely adopt a third consecutive 75-basis point rate hike at its September meeting to tame rising inflation.
Data since the Fed’s last policy meeting have showed a moderation in consumer prices and other economic indicators, leading traders to expect slower rate increments. U.S. consumer prices were flat while producer prices fell in July.
“The previous meeting occurred prior to the last consumer price index, which was a slight deceleration, and some data has flashed some warning signals,” said Sean Bandazian, senior investment analyst for Cornerstone Wealth in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“But we don’t see any meaningful change in policy from the Fed as long as the labor market and wages remain strong. I think we’re likely to hear that tone from the minutes this afternoon.”
MSCI’s gauge of stocks in 50 countries across the globe shed 0.94%, while the pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.91%.
U.S. Treasury yields advanced ahead of the publication of the Fed’s meeting minutes. The Benchmark 10-year notes rose to 2.9041%, from 2.824% on Tuesday. The two-year note gained to 3.3539%, from 3.251%.
On Wall Street, all three main indexes were lower, with technology, consumer discretionary and communication services leading the sell-off.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.82% to 33,870.33, the S&P 500 1.12% to 4,256.86 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.73%, to 12,875.98.
Oil edged higher, after hitting a six-month low earlier on Wednesday, as markets weighed a steeper than expected draw down in U.S. crude inventories against rising output and exports from Russia.
Brent crude was up 0.35% at $92.02, up a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 0.25% to $86.31 per barrel.
The dollar held gains against other major currencies, as markets awaited cues from the Fed’s minutes. The dollar index rose 0.301%, with the euro down 0.08% to $1.0162.
Gold prices eased as the dollar ticked higher. Spot gold dropped 0.8% to $1,761.82 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures fell 0.20% to $1,769.70 an ounce.
