(Bloomberg) — U.S. equity futures fell while Treasuries reversed an early gain after a Federal Reserve official said the central bank officially opened discussions on tapering.
Contracts on the S&P 500 Index fell 0.5% while those on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 turned lower, reversing an earlier gain. Benchmark Treasury yields rose above 1.5%.
In an interview on CNBC Friday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the central bank has started discussing scaling back the pace of pandemic bond-buying. Popular trades linked to hotter inflation reversed Thursday after the Fed signaled it was preparing for earlier interest-rate increases.
“Investors believe the Fed will keep inflation in check, while U.S. activity is peaking,” Barclays Plc strategists led by Emmanuel Cau wrote in a note to clients. “This is driving rotation away from reflation plays and back to growth stocks.”
Markets that are clearly benefiting from the reopening are seeing a pullback, with copper on course for its worst week since the start of the pandemic.
Oil fell for a second day, with Brent crude slipping from this week’s 2018 high. An advance in the dollar this week has made commodities that are priced in the U.S. currency more expensive, driving declines across the complex. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed Friday.
Some volatility may be possible later when options and futures on indexes and equities expire, an event known as “triple witching.”
European shares fell the most in a month, with the longest streak of gains since 1999 brought up short by the Fed’s hawkish tilt.
Read: Stock-Market Doldrums Face Shake-Up With Friday’s ‘Witching’
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