Stocks slip as caution prevails before U.S. CPI data
BNN Bloomberg
European stocks and U.S. equity futures edged lower as cautious investors awaited a U.S. inflation report for insights on the path of Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Retail and consumer shares were the biggest drag on European stocks, outweighing positive earnings news from some companies. Credit Agricole SA rallied following a record first-quarter for the French firm's investment bank. Vestas Wind Systems A/S gained after the Danish wind turbine maker returned to profit.
Contracts for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 retreated, with Airbnb Inc. sliding 13 per cent in premarket trading after the vacation home-rental company gave a cautious forecast for revenue in the second quarter. Asian stocks declined as a regional stocks gauge headed for the biggest loss in two weeks.
Wednesday's U.S. inflation figures were top of mind for investors, with US stocks tipped to rally if the reading is soft enough to lay the ground for a halt to Fed tightening, teams at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said. The report is expected to show headline CPI rose by five per cent in April on a year-on-year basis, still well above the two per cent level targeted by the Fed.
