Washington (United States) (AFP) – The downward movement initiated by the main global bond rates offered a respite from investors' concerns, allowing stock markets to finish in the green.
Published on: 09/03/2026 - 6:41 p.m. Modified on: 09/03/2026 - 10:59 p.m.
The easing movement was fueled in particular by the comments deemed reassuring by a governor of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) on the rise in prices.
“If there is continued progress towards our 2% (inflation) target, then I am prepared to support maintaining the key rate at its current level,” Christopher Waller said at an event organized by Reuters. “But if inflation comes out high, I will consider a rate hike.”
The market has mainly taken into account the first possibility.
Christopher Waller "is one of the most influential" among the twelve members of the Fed's monetary policy committee, "one of the real economists by trade", insists Bastien Drut, strategist at CPR Asset Management.
His speech "is a game changer" after Fed President Kevin Warsh's offensive speech on inflation last Friday, he recalls, contacted by AFP.
Investors, who mostly expected a turn of the screw from September, are now much more divided, according to the CME FedWatch monitoring tool.
Around 8:45 p.m. GMT, the ten-year yield on American government bonds therefore rose to 4.77%, down slightly compared to the close the day before (4.78%). Earlier today, it even went down to 4.73%.
In Europe, the ten-year German "Bund", a benchmark in the euro zone, returned to 3.34% against 3.37% the day before and its French equivalent promised a yield of 4.20% against 4.25% on Wednesday.
This slight reduction in borrowing costs prompted investors to buy back shares.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones gained 1.18%, the Nasdaq index advanced 1.40% and the broader S&P 500 index gained 1.06%.
Paris finished in balance (+0.07%) while Milan (+0.88%), London (+0.70%) and Frankfurt (+0.50%) progressed more clearly.
Oil stabilizes
“The key question now is whether the next American data will be able to call into question” market expectations on the monetary policy of the United States central bank, notes Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst for Forex.com.
The August reports on employment, published Friday, and on inflation, expected next week, will thus be dissected.
“In theory, weaker data could call into question expectations of a rate hike in September,” said Mr. Razaqzada.
However, he notes that the head of the Fed, Kevin Warsh, recently warned of the high rate of price increases in the United States.
The moderation of rates was also made possible on Thursday by the absence of a new jump in oil prices.
The barrel of Brent from the North Sea fell 0.12% to 95.52 dollars while its American equivalent, the barrel of WTI, gained 0.32% to 91.30 dollars.
Iran again targeted American military targets in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, ignoring threats from Donald Trump, in yet another resurgence of hostilities in the Middle East.
The yen in orbit
Around 8:45 p.m. GMT, the Japanese currency jumped 1.87% against the greenback to 155.79 yen per dollar.
In two days, the yen has gained nearly 3% against the American currency, an unusual movement for the foreign exchange market.
The currency is buoyed by bets on an increase in Japanese key rates from September, but speculation is rife about a possible supportive intervention from Tokyo, after several such operations at the start of the summer.
© 2026 AFP
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