Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference at the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, on February 1, 2023.
Saul Loeb Afp | Getty Images
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Fed Chairman Powell will speak later today. Markets don’t know what to expect.
What you need to know today
- US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify before Congress as a week full of economic data releases lies ahead. That includes February’s jobs report, which will show whether the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes are starting to cool the economy – especially after January’s hot report.
- US stocks were a mixed picture as investors braced for more hawkish statements from Powell – the Dow Jones industrial average rose slightly by 0.12% while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.11%. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 ended the session flat with mining stocks leading losses.
- Iran says that 8.5 million tons of lithium have been found in one of the areas in the west. The metal, known as the “white gold” of the electric vehicle industry, has seen prices rise sharply in the past year on higher demand before seeing a decline in EV sales and more business slow
- China’s conservative growth target, released over the weekend, shows that the government recognizes that there are more headaches for the economy to come.
- PRO For the past decade, those three stocks are the only ones in the MSCI World Index that have seen positive annual returns, according to a screening by CNBC Pro.
The bottom line
Good morning. This is Jihye Lee writing to you from Singapore. I am sitting today for Yeo Boon Ping, who is on leave.
All eyes will be on Powell testifying today and Wednesday. What he says will guide traders as well as lawmakers on how the US central bank views the state of inflation and how far the aggressive rate hike has come — and more importantly, where markets go from here.
Treasury yields rose slightly, after peaking above 4% last week.
Powell is almost certain to face tough questions from Congress. He is likely to be asked how badly high interest rates have hurt the economy, given sluggish business environments in global markets.
Iran claims to have discovered the second largest lithium holdings in the world, after Chile. Iran claims to have discovered a deposit of 8.5 million tons of metal. But whether the EV industry will benefit from that claim is highly questionable. While such a large investment could reduce lithium prices, the market for these products would depend on Iran’s ability to export. The country’s economy has been crushed by heavy sanctions and a collapsing currency.
And finally, we look forward to International Women’s Day. Moody’s Analytics said in a recent report that it may take the world 132 years to close the gender pay gap. And when it does, the world will see an economic boost of $7 trillion – that’s 7% more to the world’s GDP of unused potential.
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