European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde gestures as she addresses a news conference following the ECB's monetary policy meeting in Frankfurt, Germany, June 6, 2024. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
MSCI's 47-country main world index rose as much as 0.3 per cent, before trimming gains slightly. Wall Street, however, went the other way, with the S&P 500 index down 0.2 per cent after hitting an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was flat, and the Nasdaq Composite Index dipped 0.3 per cent, also down from an all-time high.
Stronger-than-expected data over the last few weeks, plus Thursday's increase in the ECB's in-house inflation forecasts, have raised doubts about how many more rates cuts will be justified this year. Canada's dollar trimmed some of the losses from its post-cut dip on Thursday to stand at C$1.37 per U.S. dollar.
Markets are now pricing nearly two quarter-point Fed cuts again this year, with a September move seen as a 68 per cent chance compared to 47.5 per cent last week.