Global
U.S. Atlanta Fed inflation expectation
U.S. Atlanta Fed President Bostic said inflation is expected to start falling and is expected to be at 3% this year. He expects to raise interest rates three to four times this year at a modest 25 basis points each, while saying the scale of the first stage of tapering could be more aggressive. In addition, Cleveland Fed President Mester expressed support for the Fed’s recent rate hikes faster than the last rate hike cycle.
Goldman Sachs expectation on interest rate hike
Goldman Sachs Group’s Praveen Korapaty team of strategists expects the Fed to raise interest rates five times this year, with three hikes expected in 2023 and two in 2024.
In terms of U.S. bond yields, Goldman Sachs raised its estimate for the 10-year Treasury yield by 25 basis points to 2.25% at the end of 2022, and raised its estimate for the end of 2023 to 2.45%, compared to 2.30% previously. The two-year U.S. bond yield is expected to be 1.90% at the end of 2022 and 2.45% at the end of 2023, given the economic backdrop and the Fed’s hawkish shift.
U.S used vehicles price
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, part of Cox Automotive, the largest offline and online (O2O) automotive trading platform in the U.S., was essentially unchanged in January from December, rising just 0.04 percent from a year earlier.
The index tracks the wholesale prices of used vehicles purchased for sale by U.S. auto dealers, as well as the types of used vehicles and mileage purchased by dealers. Analysis says the latest data sends a heavy signal that U.S. used car prices, which have surged over the past year, are leveling off.
Australia
ASX up
The S&P/ASX200 is up today, gaining 45.00 points or 0.62% to 7,313.30 and crossing above its 20-day moving average. The top performing stocks in this index are MEGAPORT LIMITED and PALADIN ENERGY LTD, up 7.57% and 6.76% respectively.
Magellan Financial Group fall out of MSCI index
Magellan Financial Group has fallen out of the MSCI Australia Index, with its shares tumbling more than 60 per cent in the last 12 months.
The company has been replaced by Mineral Resources, who reported a heavy fall in profit on Wednesday but has otherwise had a strong share performance.
The changes came as part of the MSCI quarterly index changes.
