Wall Street Rebounds as Fed's Waller Channels Disinflation Hope
Wall Street rallied on Thursday after Fed Governor Christopher Waller hinted at keeping interest rates steady for now, sparking a strong stock market rebound and dragging bond yields lower. The Japanese yen also gained ground, reaching its strongest New York trading day close since the U.S.-Iran war started in late February.
Nvidia's $13 billion acquisition of Hugging Face, a popular developer platform, marked one of the company's biggest deals yet. It's an attempt to extend its influence and reach across the AI complex, but this move may also raise accusations of 'circular financing' and unsustainable reliance on revenue from customers it is supporting via financial tie-ups.
Traders are betting heavily on a BOJ rate hike later this month, which would help maintain a 'line in the sand' against dollar/yen above 160.00. However, Japan's bond market suggests that fiscal policy will have to do some of the heavy lifting too, making it far less guaranteed.