(News Bulletin 247) – Wall Street should open without much change on Thursday morning, troubled – like other world markets – by the Bank of Canada’s unexpected decision to raise its key rates.

Half an hour before the opening, the ‘future’ contract on the Dow Jones index fell by 0.1% while that on the Nasdaq rose by 0.2%, suggesting a hesitant start to the session.

The trend is affected by the uncertainties surrounding the monetary policies conducted by the major central banks, starting with that of Canada, which surprised yesterday by raising its interest rates.

In its press release, the central authority justified its decision by the persistence of strong underlying inflation.

“The big question now is whether the Fed will follow suit with another rate hike next Wednesday or whether it will leave them unchanged after ten consecutive hikes,” said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank.

The announcement this morning by the Department of Labor of a sharp rise in jobless claims last week is nevertheless a supporting factor, in the sense that investors are thinking that the Federal Reserve could reduce the pace of its tightening in the face of the slowdown in the job market.

The number of registrations for unemployment benefits increased by 28,000 during the week of May 29, to stand at 261,000 against 233,000 the previous week.

This is its highest level since October 2021, specifies the American administration.

On the bond market, the ten-year American is settling towards 3.77%, but is still moving at levels higher than those of the end of last week.

The rise in oil prices, which are heading for gains throughout the week following Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut production, should also support the rating.

The monthly figures for wholesale inventories are the only economic indicators expected during the morning.

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