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Markets Worry About Monetary Policy Amidst Hot U.K. Inflation

By Avila Sebastian   ✉  | Published:  | Google News Follow Us  | Join Us
rttnewslogo20mar2024

Market sentiment remained cautious as stubborn inflation in the U.K. renewed fears of central bank action on the monetary policy front. Market focus is now on the Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony due later in the day as well as the interest rate decision by the Bank of England on Thursday.

European benchmarks are trading mostly higher. Wall Street Futures are trading with mild gains. Asian stocks finished mostly on a negative note amidst disappointment over policy support from Beijing.

Dollar and the Dollar Index are firm. Bond yields mostly hardened amidst U.K. inflation that exceeded forecasts. Crude oil prices are firm near the flatline. Gold declined ahead of Fed Chair's congressional testimony. Cryptocurrencies surged ahead amidst an ETF frenzy.

Here is a snapshot of the world markets at this hour across stocks, currencies, bonds, commodities and cryptocurrencies.

Stock Indexes:

DJIA (US30) at 34,078.70, up 0.07%
S&P 500 (US500) at 4,392.60, up 0.09%
Germany's DAX at 16,139.45, up 0.17%
U.K.'s FTSE 100 at 7,578.70, up 0.12%
France's CAC 40 at 7,294.79, up 0.01%
Euro Stoxx 50 at 4,348.05, up 0.11%
Japan's Nikkei 225 at 33,575.14, up 0.56%
Australia's S&P ASX 200 at 7,314.90, down 0.58%
China's Shanghai Composite at 3,197.90, down 1.31%
Hong Kong's Hang Seng at 19,218.35, down 1.98%

Currencies:

EUR/USD at 1.0917, down 0.01%
GBP/USD at 1.2702, down 0.49%
USD/JPY at 141.93, up 0.34%
AUD/USD at 0.6767, down 0.27%
USD/CAD at 1.3224, down 0.10%
Dollar Index at 102.61, up 0.06%

Ten-Year Govt Bond Yields:

U.S. at 3.738%, up 0.24%
Germany at 2.4080%, up 0.08%
France at 2.928%, down 0.02%
U.K. at 4.4425%, up 2.46%
Japan at 0.374%, down 0.27%

Commodities:

Brent Oil Futures (Aug) at $75.93, up 0.04%
Crude Oil WTI Futures (Aug) at $71.22, up 0.04%
Gold Futures (Aug) at $1,944.75, down 0.15%

Cryptocurrencies:

Bitcoin at $28,926.75, up 7.95%
Ethereum at $1,814.31, up 4.88%
BNB at $248.28, up 3.13%
XRP at $0.4955, up 2.37%
Cardano (ADA) at $0.2788, up 7.91%

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News

Global Economics Weekly Update - Jun 08-12, 2026

June 12, 2026 17:14 ET
Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.