The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany. File photo: REUTERS
Currency traders who had pushed the dollar up after news the US economy grew faster than expected at the end of 2022 were offloading it again, as the same time as dealers were nudging the benchmark government bond yields that reflect borrowing costs back up. One the most explosive stories of the week continued in India where shares of Adani Enterprises sank another 20% as the fallout continued from a scathing report by a US short seller Hindenburg Research about the firms debt levels and use of tax havens.
Thursday US data had shown consumers boosting fourth-quarter spending on goods, but it could be the last quarter of solid GDP growth before the lagged effects of the Federal Reserve’s jumbo interest rate hikes are fully felt. Futures markets are now pricing in a 94.7% probability of a 25-basis-point hike next Wednesday and foresee the Fed’s overnight rate at 4.45% by next December, or lower than the 5.1% rate Fed officials have projected into 2024.