More losses for stocks ahead of Fed minutes

Stocks continue to struggle ahead of this evening’s Fed minutes, though these might not be the game-changer many are hoping for, says Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.

Stocks remain in the red ahead of Fed minutes

“A negative tone continues across the board this afternoon, although it is not as dramatic as yesterday’s selling. Investors are clearly hoping that the Fed minutes will rescue them from this outbreak of bearishness over interest rates, but given the data we’ve had since then the minutes might not be able to do much to retrieve the situation. European markets have fallen more than their US peers this afternoon, but are in a much better position overall, and seem to provide the better risk-reward outlook heading into March.”

Commodity price weakness drags FTSE 100 lower

Expectations of ‘higher for longer’ in US interest rates mean that commodity prices have continued to tumble, and this has seen the FTSE 100 reverse some of its stratospheric performance. If, as seems likely, stocks struggle for the time being, then the FTSE seems set to trim more of its gains, with commodity weakness remaining a key driver. But the index still has plenty of ground to make up, and if the global economy does avoid a hard landing then the FTSE’s makeup puts it in a good place for more gains.”