U.S. stock futures ticked lower ahead of a panel of major central bank officials that is expected to provide insight into their views on the economy, inflation and the path of monetary policy.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% after the broad-market index closed down 2%on Tuesday. Nasdaq-100 futures ticked down 0.3%, pointing to muted losses for technology stocks after the opening bell.
Both VIX and VIXmain rose around 1.5%.
Gold sild 0,08% and reached $1819.7.
Stocks have started the week on a shaky note as a series of data releases showed that higher prices are weighing on consumer sentiment. Investors remained concerned about central banks tightening policy too aggressively while fighting inflation and causing a recession. The S&P 500 is down more than 2% so far this week and remains in a bear market, closing down just over 20% from its latest peak on Tuesday.
“We expect markets to tread water at best until we get a convincing signal that inflation has peaked. Our confidence in a soft landing has gone down even further and the market has headed that way as well,” said Arun Sai, a multiasset strategist at Pictet Asset Management.
Leaders of major central banks will be speaking on a joint panel on Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET at the ECB’s forum in Sintra, Portugal, including Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, European Central Bank PresidentChristine Lagardeand Bank of England Gov. Andrew Bailey.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note edged down to 3.168% from 3.206% on Tuesday, reversing direction after three straight days of rises. Prices rise when yields fall. European government bonds rallied, with Italy’s 10-year yield declining to 3.506% from 3.514% the day before.
“Investors were getting a little concerned that we would have a replay of the sovereign debt crisis. The ECB has reaffirmed that this is not going to be the case, they have a policy tool kit and can address that,” said Salman Baig, a multiasset investment manager at Unigestion.
The market is positioning for more information about the ECB’s new”anti-fragmentation” tool, aimed at addressing uneven financial conditions across the bloc, ahead of Ms. Lagarde’s speech on Wednesday, Mr. Baig said.
The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.7%. Investors are awaiting inflation data for Germany in June which is set to go out at 8 a.m. ET.
Dutch food-delivery company Just Eat Takeaway.com tumbled 19% after the chief executive of its subsidiary Grubhub said a sale is not imminent. Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritzrose 5% after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit and beginning a share buyback program.
In premarket trading in New York, Pinterest climbed 5%. The company said its chief executive is stepping down and a Google commerce executive is taking over the top job. Cruise company Carnival fell 7%, accelerating its two-day decline spurred by a series of price target cuts by equity research analysts.
A final reading for U.S. gross domestic product in the first quarter is set to go out at 8:30 a.m. ET. Food manufacturer General Mills and retailer Bed Bath and Beyond are scheduled to post earnings on Wednesday morning.
Oil prices edged up. Global crude benchmark Brent added 0.4% to trade at $114.29 a barrel.
In Asia, most major benchmarks declined. The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.4% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slipped1.9%. Japan’s Nikkei 225 retreated 0.9%.
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