Dollar holds firm ahead of inflation data that could set direction on Federal Reserve rates
A pedestrian looks at an electronic stock board displaying the Nikkei 225 Stock Average outside a securities firm in Tokyo, Japan. Picture: BLOOMBERG/KIYOSHI OTAAsian shares slipped and the dollar held firm on Friday as traders edged away from riskier assets amid renewed concerns about Covid-19 and ahead of key US inflation data that could set direction on Federal Reserve rates.Overnight the S&P 500 lost 0.72% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.71%. S&P 500 futures rose 0.
“Then, as we got towards the end of the week the fact that Europe was much more clearly moving into a sort of lockdown light and cases are going up, and Covid-19 case numbers in the US are starting to ratchet up flipped things a little bit,” said Rob Carnell, head of research Asia Pacific at ING. The US consumer price index for November is due later on Friday and a Reuters poll of economists expect it to have risen 6.8% year on year, overtaking a 6.2% increase in October, which was the fastest gain in 31 years.
“This issue has been going on for two and a half months now, and markets don’t seem to be as fussed because a default on Evergrande’s offshore debt has seemed highly likely,” said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Can I catch Covid-19 from drinking water?The WHO says 'the risk coronaviruses pose to drinking water is considered to be low and the virus has not been detected in drinking water supplies'.
Read more »
US authorises Pfizer COVID-19 booster for people aged 16 and 17The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday expanded authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid booster to include 16- and 17-year-olds, amid growing concern over the Omicron variant's ability to overcome immunity conferred by two shots.
Read more »
Rapid rise in Covid-19 infections in Cape with fourth wave imminentOmicron is driving the rapid increase in cases with more than 80% of PCR specimens in the last week having the proxy marker of the variant
Read more »
Only 6% of SA's intensive care beds occupied by COVID-19 patients - WHO officialSA, where the Omicron coronavirus variant is driving a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, has seen a 255% increase in infections in the past seven days, but only 6% of intensive care beds are occupied by COVID-19 patients,
Read more »
Countries making Covid-19 vaccines mandatoryGovernments have been making Covid-19 shots mandatory for health workers and other high-risk groups, pushed by a sharp upturn in infections caused by the Delta variant and a slowdown in vaccinations, as well as the new Omicron variant.
Read more »