Top 5 Things to Know in the Market on Tuesday

Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, June 18:

1. ECB flags more easing as Fed meeting kicks off

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi gave his clearest hint yet of further stimulus at a forum for central bankers in Sintra, Portugal, on Tuesday.

He indicated that, if no improvement in Eurozone inflation occurred, further interest rate cuts or asset purchases would be required.

Draghi’s comments come as the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday morning.

While markets do not anticipate any changes to be made to interest rates when the decision is announced on Wednesday, expectations are high that persistent worries over economic fallout from the U.S.-China trade war could prompt the Fed to open the door to rate cuts later this year.

Read more: Fed Preview: Caught Between Pride And Pragmatism On Speed, Frequency Of Cuts - Darrel Delamaide

Fed funds futures currently price in the chance of a rate cut in July at more than 80%, with the probability of two more cuts by the end of the year above 50%.

2. Stocks get boost from hopes of central bank easing

European stocks and U.S. futures turned positive after Draghi sparked hopes that central banks would ease policy to support a weakening global outlook.

The Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.9% by 5:49 AM ET (9:49 GMT) while, in the U.S., Dow futures gained 53 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 futures rose 7 points, or 0.2%, while Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 36 points, or 0.5%.

The bullish sentiment for stocks did not dampen demand for safe-haven bonds as investors continued to bid up prices. The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury, which trades inversely to prices, slid 4 basis points to 2.05%, its lowest level since September 2017.

3. Oil prices drop for 2nd day ahead of U.S. inventory data

Oil prices fell again, weighed down by worries that global economic growth is being hit by the U.S.-China trade war, and by caution ahead of weekly data on U.S. crude stockpiles.

The American Petroleum Institute’s weekly report on U.S. crude stockpiles is due at 4:30 PM ET . The reading comes ahead of the official report from the Energy Information Administration. Although expectations are for a draw of 2.0 million barrels, inventories surprised to the upside in the previous two reports.

Losses in oil were limited however by tensions in the Middle East after last week's tanker attacks as U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed reports last week and sent 1,000 troops to the region.

4. Boeing records zero new orders; confusion over 737 MAX rebranding

The ramifications of the two fatal crashes of Boeing’s (NYSE:BA) 737 MAX that grounded the model worldwide continued to make financial headlines.

Boeing failed to announce a single new order for any of its airplanes in the first day of the Paris Air Show, while rival Airbus recorded orders and options for 123 planes, according to CNBC.

Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg had insisted that the priority at the Paris Air Show would not be orders, but rebuilding faith in its fleet.

Separately, after Chief Financial Officer Greg Smith told Bloomberg that he would be open to a name change to the 737 MAX, the company hurriedly told Reuters that it was not currently working on plans to change the name.

5. Facebook unveils Libra digital currency project

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) announced further details on Tuesday of its planned digital currency Libra, which it expects to go live in the first half of 2020.

The Libra currency - designed as a blockchain network backed by other assets - will not be owned by Facebook itself. Mark Zuckerberg's company will lead a consortium developing it that will include payments companies Visa (NYSE:V), Stripe and PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) to help spread acceptance. Other tech companies such as eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT), Uber (NYSE:UBER) and Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), are also reported to be on board.

Facebook will look to profit from the launch with a new subsidiary called Calibra, a digital wallet designed to store and exchange Libra.

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