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All
three major indexes had a flat finish on Monday, as a rise in
Treasury yields after a blowout jobs report last week kept gains
in check.
The focus will be on the March reading of the U.S. Consumer
Price Index (CPI), due on Wednesday, that is expected to show a
rise in headline inflation to 3.4% year-on-year, from 3.2% in
February.
The core figure, which excludes volatile components such as food
and energy, is expected to ease to 3.7% year-on-year, versus
3.8% in February.
Amid signs of a robust U.S. economy, investors have been scaling
back expectations of how much the Fed will cut interest rates
this year. Current bets of around a 60-basis-point easing are
the lowest since October, according to LSEG data, compared to
about 150 bps that was priced in at the start of 2024.
Traders see a nearly 51% chance of an at-least 25 bps cut in
June, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool, down from 64% last
week.
Minutes from the Fed's March meeting - where it stuck to its
guidance of three rate cuts this year - are due later in the
week and could be key in gauging where the central bank stands
on policy easing.
Meanwhile, Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee said on Monday
the U.S. central bank must weigh how much longer it can maintain
its current interest-rate stance without damaging the economy,
but did not comment directly on the Fed's monetary policy
outlook.
Also on the radar is the first-quarter earnings season, with the
spotlight on banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells
Fargo that are scheduled to report towards the end of the week.
At 5:36 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 10 points, or 0.03%, S&P
500 e-minis were up 2.75 points, or 0.05%, and Nasdaq 100
e-minis were up 21.25 points, or 0.12%.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks declined in
premarket trading, tracking falling bitcoin prices. Exchange
operator Coinbase Global, crypto miner Marathon Digital and
software company MicroStrategy dipped over 1% each.
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja
Desai)
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