Rate-hike fears keep stocks rangebound

NEW YORK, United States — European and US stocks moved little Monday as investors awaited more company earnings and worried that central banks may keep raising interest rates for longer than expected.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 rose but the Paris CAC 40 ended lower after striking a fresh record-high at 7,552 points earlier in the day.

On Wall Street, major indices finished a choppy session with modest gains ahead of a trove of earnings.  

"Stocks have been left bereft this afternoon with little on the calendar today, and ahead of earnings tomorrow," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.

"‘Muted’ is perhaps the best way to describe the session, though it will no doubt heat up tomorrow once earnings start to come through thick and fast," he added.

The dollar firmed on prospects of more US rate-tightening and oil prices slipped.

While analysts say cooler inflation has eased some pressure on the US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of England, consumer prices remain elevated and many experts expect more actions.

"I don't think all of the rate hikes have worked their way through the system and it looks as though the Fed is going to continue to tighten," said Frances Stacy, at Optimal Capital Advisors.

"I don't think we're completely out of the woods yet," Stacy added.

Markets fear that the monetary tightening by central bankers will tip the economy into recession.

Forecast-beating earnings from US banking titans last week further helped ease some concerns about the sector.

While JPMorgan reported a surge in profits to $12.6 billion last week, it also took additional reserves, citing "an increased probability of a moderate recession due to tightening financial conditions".

"That word -- recession -- is hanging over the market, not like a death sentence at this point but more so like a chronic illness, which is to say the market is having difficulty escaping from it," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

Other major companies are releasing first-quarter results this week, including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson, Netflix, Tesla, Ericsson and Nokia.

Elsewhere, traders were keenly awaiting the release of Chinese growth data Tuesday that provides the first snapshot of how the economy has fared without painful zero-Covid restrictions.

Analysts polled by AFP expect an average of 3.8 percent year-on-year growth in January-March.