Equity markets plunged this week amid a spike in US yields. Bond market is likely to continue to draw attention next week and it may have an impact on stocks as well. GBP traders will closely watch new UK budget announcement while oil traders will follow OPEC+ meeting. Watch US100, OIL and GBPUSD in the week ahead!
US100
Stock markets have taken a hit this week as US yields started to soar. Tech shares one of the most impacted ones with the US100 index dropping over 5% last week. Pressure on the bond market, and in turn on stocks, may continue if the Fed continues to dismiss inflation concerns. Another topic to watch this week is the condition of the US labour market with February's NFP report scheduled for Friday, 1:30 pm GMT. Another weakish reading may exert some additional pressure on equities.
OIL
Oil has been trading in a steep upward move since the beginning of November 2020. OPEC+ was one of the drivers of this rally but as the situation on the oil market improves, producers are thinking about bringing production back. OPEC+ meeting next week (Thursday) is expected to lead to a 500k output increase. Moreover, Saudi Arabia may also decide to reverse recent production cuts. However, will it be enough to halt the price rally?
GBPUSD
British pound has been one of the best performing G10 currencies this year, thanks to the quick pace of the vaccination process in the United Kingdom and a recent schedule of exiting lockdown. Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak will present a budget proposal on Wednesday, March 3. A corporate tax hike may be announced as one of the ways to fund public spending. In any case, the announcement will surely bring additional volatility to the GBP market.