Latest news with #interestRateCuts
Zawya
09-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
BofA, Goldman Sachs latest on Wall Street to lift S&P 500 index's annual target
BofA Global Research and Goldman Sachs on Tuesday became the latest Wall Street brokerages to raise their year-end targets for the S&P 500 index, broadly driven by reduced policy uncertainty, resilient corporate earnings and potential interest rate cuts. BofA lifted the benchmark's index target to 6300 from 5600, while Goldman upped their target to 6600 from 6100, implying an upside of 1% and about 6% respectively to the last close of 6,229.28. This marks Goldman's second upward revision in two months, following a previous increase in early May. Earlier this year, major brokerages, including BofA, cut their targets below 6,000 after U.S. President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs in April sparked fears of a U.S. recession and escalated global trade tensions, triggering a sell-off in equities. However, reductions in some tariff rates have since eased investor concerns, diminished recession risks, and driven stocks to record highs last week. "A resilient outlook for 2026 earnings growth, the resumption of Fed rate cuts, and neutral investor positioning argue for further market upside as the recent narrow rally broadens," Goldman said in a note late on Monday. Last month, Barclays, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank had lifted their S&P 500 targets. Recent softer U.S. economic data have also boosted expectations for further interest rate cuts by the U.S. Federal Reserve that could aid equities. "Recent inflation data and corporate surveys indicate less tariff pass-through so far than we expected," Goldman said. The brokerage also raised its next three-month and 12-month target for the index to 6400 and 6900 from its previous forecast of 5900 and 6500 respectively. Trump on Monday intensified his trade war, telling 14 nations, including Japan and South Korea, they now face sharply higher tariffs from a new deadline of August 1. "We expect the digestion of tariffs to be a gradual process, and large-cap companies appear to have some buffer from inventories ahead of the increase in tariff rates," Goldman added.
CNA
08-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Bank of Korea to pause easing in July amid household debt surge: Reuters poll
BENGALURU :The Bank of Korea will pause its easing cycle on Thursday but is expected to resume interest rate cuts next month to support economic growth in a country burdened by high household debt, a Reuters poll of economists suggested. Government data showed home-backed mortgage loans rose by 5.6 trillion won ($4.1 billion) in May, accelerating from a 4.8 trillion won increase in April. That uptick is likely to deter the central bank from delivering back-to-back rate cuts even as it remains on an overall easing path. "There is a need to be cautious about the possibility of housing market and household debt-related risks increasing again," central bank board monetary policy board member Kim Jong-hwa said on June 25. All 33 economists polled July 1–7 expected the BOK to hold its base rate at 2.50 per cent on July 10. "A pause in July is not really a special thing. Financial stability and housing market concerns were always under consideration when the BOK was conducting monetary policy," Stephen Lee, chief economist at Meritz Securities, said. "The only thing ... that seems a little bit different this time is that home prices in Seoul have recently surged and that has caused mortgage loans to rise," he added. Even after 100 basis points of cuts since late last year, the minutes of the May meeting showed board members saying it was necessary to continue easing monetary policy to support economic growth. With the economy contracting 0.2 per cent in the first three months of the year and inflation largely stable at around 2 per cent, a significant majority of economists - 22 of 31 - expect the BOK to lower the policy rate by 25 basis points to 2.25 per cent by the end of this quarter. However, views diverged on where rates will end the year. Just over half of economists, or 16 of 31, saw the policy rate at 2.25 per cent, while 13 said rates would fall to 2.00 per cent by end-2025. Two expected it to remain unchanged at 2.50 per cent. "The combination of lackluster growth and contained price pressure will encourage further policy support," Jennifer Kusuma, senior rate strategist at ANZ, said. "We expect the BOK's policy messaging to keep the door open for further easing and continue to see scope for a further 25 bps rate cut this year, taking the policy rate to 2.25 per cent." A slowing economy and the lack of progress on a trade deal with the United States are likely to weigh on the outlook. The poll showed economists reduced their 2025 growth forecast to 0.9 per cent from 1.3 per cent expected in April, aligning with the central bank's projection of 0.8 per cent. Inflation was expected to average 2.0 per cent this year and ease slightly to 1.9 per cent in 2026. "The prolonged uncertainty will surely dampen the already weak domestic demand growth, companies will likely adopt wait-and-see mode before finalising their investment plans," Kelvin Lam, senior economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said. "If trade talks with the U.S. turn sour, then there will be a higher chance of rates going to 2.00 per cent by end of this year."
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Turkish Inflation Slows to 35.1% in June, Extending Downtrend
Turkey's annual inflation slowed faster than expected in June, reinforcing the prospect of an impending resumption of interest-rate cuts. Consumer prices rose 35.1 % last month in annual terms, compared to 35.4% in May, data from state statistics office TurkStat showed Thursday. Economists had expected inflation to ease marginally to 35.3%, according to the median forecast in a Bloomberg survey.
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Emerging Asian Bonds Look Poised to Lure Back Overseas Funds
Asian bond markets may start to attract overseas investors once again thanks to resilient local currencies and the prospect of interest-rate cuts from regional central banks. Global funds cumulatively pulled $980 million out of Indian, Thai and Indonesian bonds in June as the escalation in Israel-Iran tensions spurred demand for havens and sparked oil-led concerns about price pressures. But those concerns have now eased, sending the dollar lower and bringing the favorable regional inflation profile back into focus.
Bloomberg
01-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Chile Economic Activity Slips, Boosting Case for Key Rate Cuts
Chile's economic activity unexpectedly dropped in May on declines across several sectors, supporting the central bank's outlook for renewed interest rate cuts over the coming quarters. The Imacec index, a proxy for gross domestic product, fell 0.2% from April, compared to the median estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey for growth of 0.4%. Activity gained 3.2% from the prior year, the central bank reported on Tuesday.
