European stock exchanges have started today’s session just below par, a few hours after the expected speech by Fed chairman Jerome Powell, who has been holding the markets in suspense for a few days. In the first few minutes of trading, the Eurostoxx 50 index marks -0.20%. In Frankfurt the Dax slipped by 0.26%, in Paris the Cac40 dropped 0.3% and in London the Ftse100 index showed a -0.09%.
In the afternoon Powell will speak at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. Investors are expecting some indication on the next moves by the American central bank, and in particular on the timing and methods of the reduction in purchases (the so-called tapering). Yesterday several Fed board members came out in favor of tapering, most notably Robert Kaplan of the Dallas Fed, which downplayed the impact of the Delta variant on the economy.
Meanwhile, some important macro indications should arrive from the US, among which household income and spending stand out, as well as the final reading of consumer confidence calculated by the University of Michigan.