By Mike Dolan
LONDON (Reuters) - What matters in U.S. and global markets today
By Mike Dolan, Editor-At-Large, Finance and Markets
World markets have hunkered down for three days of economic health checks, corporate readouts and policy decisions that may define the remainder of the summer, with U.S. trade worries easing somewhat following a series of framework deals that should enable better planning ahead.
Global stocks and U.S. futures flatlined on Wednesday, with the Federal Reserve due to hold the line in interest rates again later in the day just as U.S. GDP and jobs updates stream in alongside the first set of megacap earnings from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Meta (NASDAQ:META). The dollar took a breather too after a strong two-day rally.
I’ll review today’s news and then discuss why the International Monetary Fund’s upgraded forecast for the global economy on Tuesday suggests the world is navigating Washington’s trade war better than many had feared, for better or worse.
* The big macro market mover late Tuesday was a sharp drop in Treasury yields ahead of Wednesday’s Fed meeting and the Treasury’s quarterly refunding announcement. This followed strong demand at a series of hefty debt auctions this week, most notably record take-up of 7-year notes on Tuesday. The drop in 10-year yields to their lowest point since July 3 was all the more impressive against the surge in crude oil prices to their highest level in over a month.
