The New York Stock Exchange is witnessing a decline in stocks, pending the decision of the Federal Reserve (Getty)
Prices fell US stocks and European andoil And gold in trading on the first days of the week witnesses important decisions of central banks, as well as many US economic data, and the biggest beneficiary was US dollar.
During Monday’s trading, the main US stock indices fell, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average losing 0.77% of its value, the S&P 500 index falling by 1.30%, while the losses in the Nasdaq index, which was most affected by interest rate movements, amounted to nearly 2%.
Retreats came in markets While the Federal Reserve is preparing, according to the expectations of many analysts, to reduce the rate of interest rate hikes, at the end of its scheduled meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday, after the decline of many indicators of inflation in the largest economy in the world.
After significant rises in the stock markets during the first four weeks of the year, it seemed that investors may have been overly optimistic, as most of them expect that the expected interest rate hike will not exceed a quarter of a percent, while statements by bank officials continued to confirm that interest rates will remain high for a while. .
Europe did not escape these concerns, with the European Central Bank also preparing to raise interest rates next Thursday, as European stocks fell today, Monday, coinciding with the rise in inflation data in Spain above expectations, with the Stoxx 600 index recording a decline of 0.2% by the end of today’s trading.
Markets reflect widespread expectations that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates by 0.5% next Thursday.
Reuters said that the technology sector index in Europe was the biggest loser among the sectors included in the STOXX 600 index, as it fell 1.7%. ASM International and Nude Semiconductor were also among the biggest losers.
The decline in stocks coincided with the decline in oil, which exceeded 2%, coinciding with the rise in fears that high interest rates would reduce demand for crude.
During Monday’s trading, Brent crude futures for March delivery fell $1.76, or 2.03%, to $84.90 a barrel, while US crude fell $1.78 to $77.90 a barrel, down 2.23%, its biggest decline in nearly four weeks.
The market was also pressured by indications of strength in Russian supply, despite the EU embargo and G7 price ceilings on Russian oil. Last week, both benchmarks recorded their first weekly losses in three weeks.
And with increasing fears of a high opportunity cost for gold holders, with interest rates remaining at their high levels, gold prices fell today, Monday, pending the emergence of indications regarding the direction of monetary policy in America during the coming period.
Gold fell in spot transactions 0.2% to 1923.35 dollars an ounce, while futures contracts for the precious metal in the United States fell 0.3% to 1922.90 dollars.
Han Tan, chief market analyst at Acciniti, told Reuters, “Gold is moving away from the highest level in nine months with the stability of the dollar and US Treasury bond yields, while the markets are awaiting the latest indications of the Federal Bank’s directions regarding monetary policy.”
Monday’s losses were spared only by the US currency, as the dollar rose on growing expectations that US interest rates will remain high for some time, while investors look for fresh indications of the number of potential interest rate increases over the coming months. The euro fell against the dollar by 0.22%, to $1.0844, in the middle of Monday’s trading.
