Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, March 6:
1. Trump Faces Pushback On Tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump faced growing pressure from political and diplomatic allies to pull back from proposed steel and aluminum tariffs, helping soothe investor nerves about an imminent trade war.
Leading Republicans, including House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Representative Kevin Brady, turned up the pressure on Trump to rethink the plan on Monday.
In addition, Trump himself appeared to show some willingness to be flexible on trade tariffs with Canada and Mexico, if they agreed to a “fair” North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Still, uncertainty remains with confusion about the timing and extent of the planned tariffs inside the White House. Trump said on Monday he would not back down.
Trump was expected to finalize the planned tariffs later in the week, although some observers familiar with the process said it could occur next week.
2. Global Stocks Rise As Trade War Fears Recede
Global stocks pushed higher, as investors piled back into equity markets amid receding fears about a trade war stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum.
Asian shares rallied, snapping five straight days of losses, with gains in the region led by Japan's benchmark Nikkei, which ended up 1.8%, after hitting its lowest closing level since October a day earlier.
In Europe, nearly all the continent's major bourses traded in positive territory, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, the region's broadest measure of share prices, rising around 0.8%, with all sectors in the green.
Italy's benchmark FTSE MIB index was up more than 1%, recouping all of its losses from the previous session, as concerns over political uncertainty following an inconclusive election result eased.
Meanwhile, on Wall Street, U.S. stock futures inched higher, an indication that equities are ready to extend strong gains from Monday. Dow futures were up 70 points, or nearly 0.3%, from their Monday close, while S&P 500 futures tacked on 6 points, or about 0.2%, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 28 points, or roughly 0.4%.
On the earnings side, Target (NYSE:TGT), H&R Block (NYSE:HRB), Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) and Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) will be the headliners.
U.S. Stocks started the week with a rally on Monday, as each of the major indexes gained more than 1%, paced by the Dow’s 336 point, or 1.4%, rally.
Tuesday’s biggest economic data point will be factory orders for January, which are unlikely to be a market mover.
3. Trio Of Fed Speakers In Focus
Markets will be paying close attention to comments from a trio of Federal Reserve speakers today for their views on the recent uptick in inflation and how that can affect monetary policy.
Kicking off, New York Fed President William Dudley is scheduled to give a speech on economic conditions and recovery efforts in the U.S. Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands at 7:30AM ET (1230GMT).
After the market close, Fed Governor Lael Brainard will speak on the economy and monetary policy at the Money Marketeers Forum in New York at 7PM ET.
Later, Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan will take part in a moderated discussion at CERA Week, an annual energy conference, in Houston at 8:30PM ET.
The Fed is scheduled to hold its next policy meeting on March. 20-21, with interest rate futures pricing in a 90% chance of a rate hike at that meeting, according to Investing.com's Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
A recent batch of stronger-than-expected U.S. inflation data has bolstered bets that the Fed could increase interest rates as many as four times this year, more than the three it currently forecasts.
The U.S. dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of six global currencies, was little changed at the 89.90-level, while the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note yields crept modestly lower to 2.868%.
4. Oil Steadies As Focus Shifts to U.S. Supply Data
Global oil prices held steady, catching their breath following three days of gains, as investors looked ahead to industry data on U.S. domestic crude stocks.
The American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (2130GMT), amid forecasts for an oil-stock gain of around 3.0 million barrels.
U.S. WTI crude futures inched up 5 cents to $62.62 per barrel, while Brent futures added 3 cents to $65.57 per barrel.
Both benchmarks hit their highest level in about a week on Monday amid growing optimism that rebalancing in crude markets are well underway thanks to OPEC-led production cuts.
5. Ripple Tumbles Back As Coinbase Rumors Fade
Prices of Ripple tumbled, giving back most of their gains from a day earlier, as speculation that popular exchange Coinbase would add the cryptocurrency to its platform faded.
Ripple, the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap, sank around 12% to trade at $0.93389, after Coinbase said the company has "made no decision to add additional assets to either GDAX or Coinbase" and that "any statement to the contrary is untrue and unauthorized by the company."
It surged to $1.09 on Monday, boosted by the Coinbase rumors.
Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Coinbase President and Chief Operating Officer Asiff Hirji are scheduled to appear on CNBC's "Fast Money" on Tuesday. However, those two are taking part in separate and unrelated interviews on the show.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin prices retreated further from the $12,000-level. The world's biggest virtual currency by market cap fell around 2% to $11,265.
Other major cryptocurrencies also traded lower, with both Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash on the backfoot.