Demand for unemployment benefits in the US has increased!

Uncertainties regarding the monetary policies of central banks continue to affect asset prices in the markets.

While macroeconomic data released in the US continues to provide mixed signals, estimates in money market pricing suggest a 35 percent probability that the Fed could begin interest rate cuts in March.

According to data released yesterday, the US Institute for Supply Management (ISM) manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 49.1 in January, exceeding market expectations.

APPLICATIONS FOR UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS INCREASED

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time in the country rose to 224 thousand in the week ending January 27, exceeding expectations.

Meanwhile, non-farm labor productivity in the US increased by 3.2 percent in the last quarter of last year compared to the previous quarter, surpassing expectations.

Analysts noted that the signals from these data indicate that the economy remains strong, drawing attention to the importance of the employment data to be released today.

Stating that the non-farm payroll data is expected to provide information on the state of the labor market in the US economy, analysts reminded that the Fed wants to see a slowdown in non-farm employment growth as a result of its efforts to cool the economy.

Analysts mentioned that the market expects non-farm employment to increase by 185 thousand in January, noting that increased volatility in the markets is likely following the release of the data.

As the buying-weighted trend in bond markets extended into its fourth consecutive trading day, analysts noted that the 10-basis-point decline in the US 10-year bond yield yesterday was influenced by the possibility that the rise in unemployment benefit claims might indicate a slowdown in the labor market. After testing its lowest level of the year at 3.81 percent yesterday, the US 10-year bond yield stabilized at 3.89 percent in the new day.

Brent crude oil prices, which fell by 2.4 percent on Wednesday, declined by another 2.2 percent yesterday, with news flow regarding Israel and Hamas being close to a ceasefire agreement influencing the trend.

Supported by the decline in bond yields, the ounce price of gold reached its highest closing level since January 2, at 2,055.6 dollars.

On the other hand, revenue for US tech giants Apple increased by 2 percent, Meta by 25 percent, and Amazon by 14 percent.

Yesterday, the Nasdaq index rose by 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 index by 1.25 percent, and the Dow Jones index by 0.97 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. US index futures contracts began the new day with gains.

News Source: 12punto