A public screen displays GDP figures in Shanghai, China, on February 7 2022. Asian stocks were mixed amid a rally in China as the nation’s markets reopened from a holiday, while the prospect of global monetary tightening continued to weigh on bonds. Picture: BLOOMBERG/QILAI SHEN
The US on Sunday said Russia might create a surprise pretext for an attack, as it reaffirmed a pledge to defend “every inch” of Nato territory. There was even chatter about an emergency inter-meeting hike. That was spurred in part by the timing of a closed Fed Board meeting for Monday, though the event seemed routine.
Futures markets since have scaled back the risk of a half-point rise to about 58%, when it had been priced as a near certainty at one stage last week. Attention will now be on an appearance by St Louis Fed president James Bullard later on Monday, given he recently called for 100 basis points of tightening by June.