The National Association of Realtors' measure of US existing-home sales is expected to slow to a 4.15 million annual rate in January, based on a survey compiled by Bloomberg, after rising by 5.1% to a 4.35 million rate in December. Existing-home sales were at a 4.09 million rate in January 2025, so the year-over-year change would still be positive.
The January employment report was stronger than expected, with payrolls growth faster than expected, the unemployment rate down, and hourly earnings growth accelerated, but there were some negatives under the main figures. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 in January after a 48,000 gain in December and a 41,000 increase in November, both revised lower from their previous estimates.
US benchmark equity indexes were mixed intraday as traders assessed the latest jobs report, which helped strengthen the odds of the Federal Reserve holding its monetary policy steady. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.3% at 50,049.8 after midday Wednesday after closing at a new all-time high in the previous session.
The Federal Reserve's supervision staff told banks earlier this month that examiners will review previously sent private warnings to lenders to fix deficiencies and that some could be abandoned, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The Federal Reserve's monetary policy should remain "somewhat restrictive" to cool inflation, Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid said Wednesday, as he cautioned against cutting interest rates further. The US economy entered 2026 with "solid" consumer demand amid an artificial intelligence buildout, according to Schmid.
US equity indexes traded mixed after midday Wednesday as investors weighed seasonality against a strong jobs report that sent government bond yields higher.
With the Norwegian inflation figures for January, even those who still had doubts despite the recent statements made by Norges Bank should now realize that interest rate cuts by Norway's central bank are off the table for the time being, said Commerzbank. This is because inflation rates rose to 3.6% and 3.4% year-on-year, wrote the bank in a note to clients.
Georgia's central bank Wednesday said its Monetary Policy Committee decided to keep the monetary policy rate unchanged at 8.0%. The overall price level in Georgia increased by 4.8% year-on-year in January.
With inflation in Switzerland declining sharply, the Swiss central bank cut its policy rate from 0.5% to 0% in the first half of 2025, said UBS. In the second half, it remained unchanged, noted the bank. The SNB stated last July that the threshold for reducing rates into negative territory was high, pointed out UBS.
The US economy added more jobs than projected in January, while the unemployment rate slipped, delayed official data showed Wednesday. Total nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000 last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said, double the 65,000 increase expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.
Zambia's central bank Wednesday said its Monetary Policy Committee decided to reduce the Monetary Policy Rate by 75 basis points to 13.5%. The MPC took into account the further decline in inflation in Q4 2025, the projected faster fall of inflation into the 6%-8% target band than was forecast in November 2025, and the need to maintain an appropriate monetary policy stance, noted BoZ.
The January employment report showed nonfarm payrolls rose by 130,000, double the 65,000 jobs increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, but December payrolls were revised down to a 48,000 increase and November payrolls were revised down to a 41,000 increase, for a net downward revision of 17,000 jobs over the two months.
The broad market exchange-traded fund SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust was up 0.1% and the actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust was 0.2% higher in Wednesday's premarket activity, ahead of the delayed employment report. US stock futures were also higher, with S&P 500 Index futures up 0.1%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advancing 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures gaining 0.2% before the start of regular trading.
Argentina's January consumer price index printed at 2.9% month over month, or 32.4% year over year, which is above the market consensus of 2.4%, while marking the highest. monthly reading since last April, said BBVA Research.
US stock futures were trending higher on Wednesday as traders awaited key employment data for last month. The S&P 500 edged up 0.1% in premarket activity, while the Nasdaq and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.2% each. The nonfarm payrolls report for January is due at 8:30 am ET.
US equity indexes were mixed Tuesday after reports of weaker-than-expected retail sales data and a fall in government bond yields. * Retail sales unexpectedly remained flat in December, the US Census Bureau said Tuesday, as consumer spending did not increase despite the holiday season starting strongly.
US nonfarm payrolls are expected to rise by 67,000 in January after a 50,000-jobs gain in December, based on a survey compiled by Bloomberg, while the unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.4%. The January employment report is due to be released at 8:30 am ET Wednesday.
While the unemployment rate in France rose by more than expected, eurozone sovereign bonds followed United States Treasuries higher on an otherwise quiet Tuesday for economic data, said Daiwa Capital Markets. In terms of economic data, the coming two days should be relatively quiet for the eurozone, noted the bank.
Morgan Stanley said it expects a 100bps cut on Thursday from Egypt's central bank. While supportive fundamentals could justify a larger 200bps move, geopolitical uncertainty and seasonal pressures around Ramadan could potentially lead to a cautious Monetary Policy Committee with a hold, stated the bank. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice.
US retail sales unexpectedly held steady in December, the Census Bureau said Tuesday, as consumers appeared to pull back on spending at the end of 2025 after kicking the holiday season off at a strong pace. A flat reading compares with the Bloomberg-compiled consensus that called for a 0.4% rise.
Peru's central bank is expected to stay on hold at a reference rate of 4.25% on Thursday, said Scotiabank. BCRP hasn't budged from there since last September and has held for four consecutive meetings, noted the bank.
Kenya's central bank Tuesday said its Monetary Policy Committee decided to lower the Central Bank Rate by 25 basis points to 8.75%. Kenya's overall inflation declined to 4.4% in January 2026 from 4.5% in December 2025, and remained below the mid-point of the target range of 5%, more or less 2.5 percentage points, noted the central bank.
The quarterly US employment cost index rose by 0.7% in Q4, slower than the 0.8% gain in the previous quarter, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Tuesday. This was below the consensus expectations of a 0.8% gain in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. Benefits costs rose by 0.7% in the quarter after a 0.8% gain in previous quarter, the same as for wage growth.
US retail sales were virtually steady in December, below a 0.4% increase expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg and following the previous month's 0.6% gain. Excluding a 0.2% decrease in motor vehicle sales, retail sales were still flat compared with an expected 0.4% gain.
Things were looking up in Canada near the end of 2025, but roughly two months later, things looked very different, said National Bank of Canada. Hiring has come back to earth and measures of labor demand remain depressed, noted the bank. Even inflation, which had been running warm, has cooled off "materially" in recent months, pointed out National Bank.
The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Tuesday, except for a decline versus the yen, ahead of a busy day of economic data releases, starting with retail sales and import and export price data for December and the employment cost index for Q4, all at 8:30 am ET.
US consumers expect lower inflation a year from now, while their overall labor market outlook generally improved, a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed Monday. Median year-ahead inflation was seen at 3.1% in January, down by 0.3 percentage point from the previous month's outlook, according to the survey.
Total Canadian employment declined 25,000 in January, with part-time employment slipping 69,700, offsetting a 44,900 rise in full-time employment, said UBS after Friday's Labour Force Survey. The unemployment rate slipped back 0.3 percentage points to 6.5% in January, its lowest level since September 2024, largely on the back of a shift lower in labor-force participation, noted the bank.
The Bank of Canada is expected to raise rates by 25 basis points in Q2 2027, according to a survey of market participants published by the BoC on Monday. The BoC's Q4 Market Participants Survey, conducted Dec. 16-30, showed a median of the participants forecasting the central bank to raise the policy rate by 25bps to 2.50 in Q2 2027, rising to 2.75% in Q4 2027.
Consumer expectations for one-year US inflation growth slowed to a 3.1% gain in January from a 3.4% gain in the previous month, according to a survey released by the New York Federal Reserve Bank on Monday. The median inflation expectations remained at a 3.0% gain for the three-year period and at a 3.0% gain for five years ahead.
Morgan Stanley said it expects the flash estimate for eurozone Q4 2025 gross domestic product growth on Friday to confirm the preliminary flash estimate, at 0.3% quarter over quarter. MT Newswires does not provide investment advice.
Canadian employment decreased by 24,800 in January, below the consensus expectation calling for a 5,000 increase, said National Bank of Canada after Friday's Labour Force Survey.
Canadian government bond yields ended last week mostly unchanged, TD Economics has noted in a review of last week. Meanwhile, it also noted, while the US dollar continued to strengthen, causing the Canadian dollar to fall to 73 cents/USD, the depreciation was limited as Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem dismissed the possibility of further rate cuts in his first public speech of 2026.
Although the key United States labor market report wasn't published on Friday, there was at least labor market data from Canada, which was rather disappointing, said Commerzbank. Roughly 20,000 jobs were lost in Canada in January, while a small increase in employment had been expected, noted the bank. At first glance, the significant fall in the unemployment rate at the same time looked positive.
The US dollar fell against its major trading partners early Monday as markets turn their attention to rescheduled nonfarm payrolls employment data for January, retail sales data for December and consumer price index data for January this week. Monday's schedule is light on data, with only the New York Federal Reserve's inflation expectations report for January at 11:00 am ET.
Employment in Canada decreased by 25,000 jobs in January following four consecutive months of gains, said David Doyle, head of economics at Macquarie Group, after Friday's Labour Force Survey. Despite this, the unemployment rate declined to 6.5% as participation weakened. Macquarie anticipates a gradual improvement in the labor market.
Friday's January jobs report continued the string of strange labour market reports, with a big drop in the participation rate taking the unemployment rate down 0.3 percentage points to 6.5%, RBC Capital Markets said in its weekly soundbites. Another big swing, lower this time, in the labor force and participation rate pushed the unemployment rate 0.3pp lower despite a 25,000-job decline.
US equity indexes rebounded ahead of Friday's close, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging past the 50,000 milestone for the first time, amid a broad-based rally led by technology and value-oriented sectors.
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