(Bloomberg) — European stocks and US equity futures followed Asian shares higher on Tuesday as investors awaited the next raft of data and speeches by policy makers for pointers on the outlook for the economy and interest rates.
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The Stoxx Europe 600 index was on track to gain for the first time in seven days, with miners leading the advance as iron ore and copper rallied on hopes China will announce more stimulus for its ailing economy. Prosus NV jumped more than 7% after getting regulatory approval to remove its cross-holding structure with Naspers Ltd.
S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose around 0.3%, shaking off weakness from Monday that saw the Nasdaq fall 1.4% after suffering its worst week since March amid concern that the Federal Reserve will push the US economy into recession. A gauge of dollar strength declined and the offshore yuan advanced after China set its daily reference rate for the managed currency at a stronger-than-expected level for a second day. US government bonds were steady.
Remarks by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde at a policy forum in Sintra, Portugal, will be scrutinized by traders who have been growing more anxious that central banks will keep pushing rates higher and risk sending fragile economies into reverse. Her peers from the US, Japan and the UK are slated to speak at the same forum later this week. US data on business-equipment orders, home sales and consumer confidence Tuesday will add to the picture.
Traders have finally relented on their bets that the Fed will cut rates this year after Chair Jerome Powell last week warned the US may need one or two more rate increases in 2023.
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“I’m not sure we have felt the full effect of the whole inflation cycle,” Nancy Daoud, private wealth adviser at Ameriprise Financial Services, said on Bloomberg Television. “Those rate hikes are very, very likely in July and in early fall.”
A gauge of Asian equities was on course for its first advance in seven days, buoyed by a rally in Hong Kong-listed technology stocks as the China’s…
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