The European stock market dropped on Thursday, while US stock futures slightly rebounded after yesterday's significant sell-off, which particularly affected tech stocks. It can be attributed growing fears that central banks will continue to raise interest rates. S&P 500 futures recovered by 0.1%, while the NASDAQ edged up 0.2%. On the Stoxx 600 index, shares of ASML Holding NV stocks suffered the biggest losses and declined by 1.8%, while on the NASDAQ, GameStop Corp. plunged by more than 18% after the company fired its CEO amid sales falling short of expectations.
Tech stocks, which are particularly sensitive to interest rates, are facing significant difficulties as investors are considering the possibility that the Federal Reserve System has not finished its tightening cycle. Moreover, hikes might occur not only in July but also in June 2023 as well, despite earlier Fed signals about pausing the cycle. Recently, two major central banks, the Bank of Canada and the Reserve Bank of Australia, unexpectedly raised rates, announcing a new round of policy measures against high inflation.
Clearly, the fight against inflation is far from over, especially when it comes to the Federal Reserve System, which for the past 1.5 years has been consistently stating that high prices are the number one issue. Inflationary pressures fuel fears associated with rising interest rates. US Treasury bond yields remained stable after the yield on the 10-year bond jumped by 14 basis points on Wednesday.
As noted earlier, the big question facing investors right now is whether the Fed will decide to raise rates next Wednesday or keep them unchanged after 10 consecutive hikes. Traders are now increasingly betting on the Fed raising rates in July, with swaps indicating a quarter percentage point hike at the July meeting.
In Europe, tech losses were offset by energy and defense stocks posting gains. Asian stocks fell, with the most notable drop in tech shares registered in Hong Kong. The Japanese yen went up after data showed that Japan's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of 2023.
On the technical side, demand for the S&P 500 has decreased. It is debatable if there was any demand for the index earlier. Bulls still have a chance to start an upward trend, but they need to hold on to $4,290. The index might jump to $4,320 from that area. Maintaining control over $4,370 is equally a priority for S&P 500 bulls, which will strengthen the bull market. In case of a downward movement amid dwindling risk appetite and hawkish comments from Fed policymakers, buyers must act near $4,255 and $4,230. A quick breakout below these levels will push the trading instrument down to $4,175 and open the way towards $4,143.
