Following a brutal sell-off on Friday, major US equity indices witnessed yet another weak opening on Monday, but have pared early losses amid concerns of an imminent Fed rate-hike move, sooner than later.
Recent hawkish rhetoric from various Fed officials has been fueling speculations that the Fed is likely to go ahead and raise interest rates, as early as in September. Hence, investors now await for a scheduled speech from a dovish FOMC member, Lael Brainard later during the day, hoping to get some fresh clues over possibilities of an eventual Fed rate-hike action at its meeting on September 20-21 and during the rest of 2016.
During opening trade, Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 80 points to 17,800 while the broader S&P500 index dropped 7 points to 2120. Meanwhile, tech heavy Nasdaq composite opened lower by 15 points at 5,110.
Ahead of the Fed blackout period, hawkish comments from Brainard would increase probability of a September lift-off and is likely to weigh heavily on riskier assets - like equities. However, being one of the most dovish FOMC members, markets are anticipating Brainard’s speech to ease Fed rate-hike fears for the time being.
In other markets, the US Treasury bond yields jumped to the highest level since the historic Brexit referendum in June and WTI crude oil prices extended its Friday's sell-off and dropped below $45.00/barrel mark. Meanwhile, the greenback, as measured by the overall US Dollar Index, traded mixed and was seen struggling for a firm direction.
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