The FTSE 100 and European stocks were mostly higher this Tuesday as investors await Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s testimony to the Senate Banking Committee at 3pm UK time today.
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) rose 0.10% to 7,937 points at the open, while the CAC 40 (^FCHI) in Paris was muted at 7,377 points. In Germany, the DAX (^GDAXI) rose 0.10% to 15,669.
Investors will be keeping an eye on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s two-day biannual monetary policy testimony on Capitol Hill, which begins this Tuesday.
Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, commented “Investors are largely unwilling to take the plunge ahead of two vital indicators later in the week, with most markets treading water in the meantime.”
“Federal Reserve Chairman Powell’s Congressional testimony and the non-farm payrolls report are the undoubted highlights of the week. Taken together, the two events will provide the latest update on the immediate past, present and future of the world’s largest economy and will be crucial in determining market sentiment.”
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Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown said: “Caution is set to stay the name of the game on financial markets as investors await testimony from the world’s most influential central banker.”
“With investors on tenterhooks about just how far interest rates will rise, and what effect this will have on the world’s largest economy, Fed chair Jerome Powell’s words in Washington as he speaks to senators later are likely to set off a ripple effect through indices.”
“Any hint that he’s swirling the latest data and is finding a pattern of inflation that’s stubbornly hard to shift, could trigger fresh falls in equities, and may see bond yields edge up.”
In London, shares of Ashtead Group (AHT.L) rose 2.96% after the company forecast annual results ahead of its estimates and also raised capital spend outlook for the next year.
Across the wider FTSE 250 index, John Wood Group (WG.L) jumped 14.9% after it revealed it had rejected a fourth bid approach from Apollo Global Management (APO) valuing the firm at 237p per share.
“The board believes this latest proposal continues to undervalue the group and is therefore minded to reject,” the company said.Bren
“The board will continue to engage with its shareholders and intends to engage further, on a limited basis, with Apollo,” it added.
Meanwhile, Brent crude (BZ=F) slipped and was trading at around $86/barrel.
In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 (^N225) climbed 0.25% to 28,309 points, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) in Hong Kong lost 0.33% to 20,534. The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) also edged lower, slipping 1.11% to 3,285 points.
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Across the pond, US stocks lost steam Monday after rallying earlier in the session, kicking off a busy week on Wall Street with a mixed tone.
The Dow Jones (^DJI) rose 0.12% to close at 33,431 points. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) finished flat at 4,048 points and the tech-heavy NASDAQ (^IXIC) lost 0.11% to 11,675.
S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all in the green as trade began in Europe.
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