TradingKey - The situation in the Middle East has deteriorated. Last week, the three major US stock indexes all recorded declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.32%, the S&P fell 0.39%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.63%, ending two consecutive weekly gains. This week is a super central bank week. The Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan will successively release interest rate decisions. Powell and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will give speeches. Investors expect to find more monetary policy signals from them. Tesla's Robotaxi service is tentatively scheduled to be tested in Austin on Sunday (June 22), which will attract the attention of global investors.
Preview of major events
Fed's June decision: Expectations of rate cuts still exist
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet mid-week. Despite pressure from President Trump to cut interest rates and a weaker-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, the Fed is widely expected to keep the federal funds rate unchanged in the near term.
Fed officials are reportedly keeping a close eye on consumers' inflation expectations to assess whether the Trump administration's tariff policies could lead to a sustained rise in inflation. Meanwhile, May nonfarm payrolls data showed potential weakness in the job market and concerns about a recession remain, adding uncertainty to the outlook for rate cuts. Citigroup expects the Fed to cut interest rates by 75 basis points this year, including 25 basis points each in September, October and December.
What signals will the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision and Kazuo Ueda send?
On Tuesday (June 17), the Bank of Japan announced its latest interest rate decision. Since raising interest rates by 25 basis points in January this year, the Bank of Japan has kept its policy rate unchanged at 0.5% for two consecutive times. The market expects that the probability of the bank continuing to suspend interest rate hikes this month is more than 50%.
Investors will pay attention to how policymakers will implement their bond purchase plans. Media surveys show that about two-thirds of respondents expect the pace of tapering to slow down.
The Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday and faces a dilemma
The Bank of England will announce its interest rate decision on Thursday, and the market expects it to maintain the current policy rate of 4.25%. In the last meeting, the central bank has implemented a 25 basis point interest rate cut and emphasized that it will promote the pace of easing in a "gradual and cautious" manner.
Some institutional analysts said that the UK's economic growth has slowed down but core inflation is still high. The central bank may tend to observe more data before adjusting interest rates, which still has some support for the pound in the short term.
Tesla Robotaxi service is tentatively scheduled to start trial operation in Austin on Sunday (June 22)
Musk revealed on the X platform that Tesla's driverless Robotaxi service is scheduled to be tested in Austin, Texas on June 22, and he will personally attend the launch ceremony. It is reported that the trial run is very small, involving only 10 to 20 Robotaxi vehicles, the model is locked to Model Y, equipped with the company's new "unsupervised version" FSD (fully autonomous driving) technology.
The first autonomous delivery trip (Self-Delivery) from the Tesla factory to the customer's home will be scheduled on June 28, which is also Musk's birthday.
Selected Economic Data
Tuesday:US May retail sales monthly rate, Japan's central bank target rate until June 17
Thursday:US Federal Reserve interest rate decision (upper limit) until June 18, UK central bank interest rate decision until June 19
Friday:US May Conference Board leading indicator monthly rate
This week's featured events
Tuesday:Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda held a monetary policy press conference.
Thursday:Federal Reserve Chairman Powell held a monetary policy press conference.
Friday:European Central Bank President Lagarde delivered a speech.
Company Financial Report
Monday:Lennar Construction-B (LEN), Powerfleet (AIOT)
Tuesday:Jabil Technologies (JBL)
Wednesday:GMS Inc (GMS)