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February 3, 2026
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Financial Markets (Just2Trade) Fed’s Waller
advocates for further policy easing Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller dissented at the FOMC’s January
meeting, voting for a reduction in the benchmark interest rate, as he said he sees downside risks to the employment outlook
that warrant such action. To remind, Committee participants overwhelmingly decided to maintain the target for the Fed funds
rate in the 3.50-3.75% range, while Waller and Fed Governor Stephen Miran backed a cut. “I have heard in multiple outreach
meetings of planned layoffs in 2026,” Waller said. “This indicates to me that there is considerable doubt about
future employment growth and suggests that a substantial deterioration in the labor market is a significant risk.” He
further noted that headline inflation, excluding the impact of tariffs, is running close to the FOMC’s 2% target. Meanwhile,
Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic argued inflation still remains elevated, meaning that the central bank should take some
time before easing policy. “We should be waiting, and be more patient,” Bostic said. “We are still too high
in inflation, so I think we need to be somewhat restrictive… I do feel like that downside risk – that a catastrophe
is going to happen in employment – is much further away from us than it was even a month ago,” he added. The FOMC’s
January meeting was Bostic’s last as a policymaker before he retires at the end of February. Fed officials’ median
projections currently call for one 25 bp rate reduction during 2026, whereas Fed watchers broadly anticipate two cuts. Eurozone
and EU print 0.3% quarterly growth The Eurozone economy expanded 0.3% q-o-q and 1.3% y-o-y in Q4 2025, according to preliminary
data from Eurostat. These compare to expectations of 0.2% and 1.2%, respectively. The broader EU economy grew 0.3% q-o-q and
by 1.4% y-o-y last quarter. By country, Lithuania (+1.7%), Spain and Portugal (+0.8% each) outperformed, while Ireland (-0.6%)
was a laggard. Annual growth still remained positive in 14 of the 27 EU member nations, while steadying in Finland. Germany’s
economic momentum picked up to 0.3% q-o-q in Q4, following flat performance in the prior quarter. France recorded a slowdown
to 0.2% q-o-q from 0.5% in Q3. Conversely, GDP growth ticked up to 0.3% from 0.2% in Italy and to 0.8% from 0.6% in Spain.
In another data point, Eurostat said Eurozone unemployment stood at 6.2% in December, down from the prior month’s 6.3%,
while the EU unemployment rate was flat at 5.9%. The EU reported 13,043,000 unemployed in December, with 10,792,000 in the
Eurozone. Compared to December 2024, the number of unemployed rose by 71,000 in the EU and declined by 5,000 in the World
indexes US Dow Jones 49,407.7 +1.05% S&P 500 6,976.4
+0.54% Nasdaq 23,592.1 +0.56% S&P 500 Fut 7,020.8 +0.26% VIX 16.3 -0.55% Europe Stoxx Europe 600 621.6 +0.69% FTSE 100
10,364.9 +0.23% DAX 25,074.0 +1.12% CAC 40 8,227.2 +0.56% Asia Pacific MSCI Asia Pacific 239.3 -2.27% Nikkei 225 54,720.7
+3.92% ASX 200 8,857.1 +0.89% KOSPI 5,288.1 +6.84% Hang Seng 26,834.8 +0.22% BRICS Bovespa 182,793.4 +0.79% CSI 300 4,660.1
+1.18% Sensex 83,907.5 +2.74% JSE 120,990.7 +1.79% Global MSCI World 4,538.5 +0.24% MSCI EM 1,493.9 -2.24% Commodities Brent 65.7 -1.04% WTI 61.6 -0.95% Gold 4,943.9 +6.26% Silver 86.9
+12.87% Nickel 17,280.0 +1.38% Aluminum 3,094.0 +1.23% Copper 12,832.3 0.00% Baltic Dry 2,124.0 -1.12% Eurozone. Relative to the prior month, the figure decreased by 94,000 and 61,000, respectively.
Hong Kong delivers robust economic growth The region’s economy expanded 3.5% in FY2025, according to preliminary data
from the local statistical authority. This marked an acceleration from 2.6% growth in 2024. The estimate exceeded both official
forecasts and analyst expectations. Hong Kong’s Q4 GDP rose 3.8% y-o-y – the strongest gain in two years. Additionally,
official statistics for the October-December period showed increases in consumer spending by 2.5%, government expenditure
by 1.4%, and fixed asset investment by 10.9%. Exports climbed 15.5%, while imports soared 18.4%. Separately, Taiwan’s
economy grew 8.6% in FY 2025 and 12.7% y-o-y in Q4 alone, with the latter marking the highest rate since 1987. The country’s
consumer spending rose 3.4%, whereas business investment contracted 3.8%. Exports and imports skyrocketed 38.8% and 24.6%,
respectively. Source: The Wall Street Journal
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