• Wall Street ended mixed on September 20, with the DJIA closed up by +0.09%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed down by -0.19% and -0.36%, respectively.
• Stocks mostly fell on Friday, paring Thursday’s gains. The Dow Jones edged up as Intel climbed over 3% and Nike surged more than 6%. However, weakness in chip stocks weighed on the broader market. Stocks rebounded after dovish comments from Fed Governor Waller, noting core PCE is rising at +1.8%, below the Fed's 2% target.
• The 10-yr UST yield stayed flat at 3.73% on Friday, while the 2-yr yield fell by -4.0 bps to 3.55. T-notes recovered from early losses due to short covering sparked by dovish remarks from Fed’s Waller. However, supply pressures and negative carryover from European bond weakness weighed on prices.
• The Central Bank balance sheet in the US decreased to USD7.11 million on September 18, down from USD7.12 million the previous week. This phased approach following rate cuts may indicate a complex and nuanced monetary policy strategy that warrants close monitoring.
• Euro Area consumer confidence rose by +0.5 points to -12.9 in September 2024, exceeding market expectations of -13. This marks the highest level since February 2022, reflecting improved sentiment after ECB's rate cuts.
• In Asia, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) kept its key lending rates steady in September, with the one-year loan prime rate (LPR) at 3.35% and the five-year rate at 3.85%, aligning with market estimates.
• Global bond yields were mixed on Friday: the 10-yr German bund yield rose by +1.8 bps to 2.21%, the 10-yr UK gilt yield rose by +1.1 bps to 3.90%, while the 10-yr Japanese JGB edged down by -0.1 bps to 0.85%.
