The IMF is concerned about highly-leveraged hedge funds dominating the U.S. Treasury futures market, which could lead to systemic threats and instability in the global economy.
A sentiment of risk aversion looms over the markets during Wednesday’s trading session, triggering midday losses across the board in stocks and cryptocurrencies and prompting a flight towards bonds, as investor confidence remains dampened by geopolitical and economic risks.
U.S. stocks are priming for a firmer start on Wednesday, potentially striving to inflect higher from the weakness seen so far in April. As some bullish market watchers pointed out there could be an inflection from the second half of April, with earnings potentially serving as an upside catalyst.
Powell stated on Tuesday that a prolonged period of restrictive monetary policy may be necessary, refraining from offering explicit guidance on a rate-cutting strategy.