- US equities traded lower on Thursday as investors focused on Friday’s inflation report.
- Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the consumer price index to have changed at 8.3% in May.
- Investors on Thursday also digested the European Central Bank’s decision not to raise interest rates.
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US equities traded lower on Thursday as investors digested the European Central Bank’s plan next month to raise interest rates for the first time in a decade.
The decision comes as Europe struggles with an impending recession, caused by rising commodity and food prices, which has been exacerbated by Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
U.S. investors have focused their attention on Friday’s Consumer Price Index report, which will reveal whether prices continued to rise in May. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expect the CPI to have unchanged at 8.3% in May and expect core inflation to fall to 5.9% from 6.2% in April.
Any slowdown in rising inflation would be a relief for investors, as it would be a major relief for the consumer and potentially give the Federal Reserve some leeway in its current tightening cycle.
This is where US indices positioned themselves shortly after opening on Thursday at 9:30 am ET:
Natural gas prices rose 33% in Europe on Thursday after a fire broke out at a US export center, which put even more pressure on already adjusted world supplies. Freeport’s liquefied natural gas export facility in Quintana, Texas, will remain closed for at least three weeks after an explosion.
Bill Ackman’s SPAC, which raised $ 4 billion from investors, may have to return the money, as it only takes six weeks to find a target company and make a deal. The SPAC market and the IPO have been discouraged so far this year amid a wider fall in equity markets.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 0.61% to $ 121.37 a barrel. Brent crude, the international benchmark for oil, fell 0.40% to $ 123.16.
Bitcoin fell 0.51% to $ 30,121. Ether prices fell 0.19% to $ 1,795.
Gold fell 0.24% to $ 1,852.10 an ounce. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 2 basis points to 3.04%.