By Tommy Stubbington
European stocks paused from their recent rally Friday with
investors awaiting speeches from major central bankers.
The Stoxx Europe 600 was down less than 0.1% in early trade.
Equities had climbed in Europe on Thursday, despite the latest
installment in a recent run of weak economic data in the
region.
The positive tone continued in the U.S., where the S&P 500
reached a fresh all-time high.
The rally comes ahead of speeches by U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairwoman Janet Yellen and European Central Bank President Mario
Draghi at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium later
Friday.
Many analysts expect Ms. Yellen to reassure markets that
interest rates will stay low for some time, despite Fed minutes
this week that showed officials had discussed an earlier hike.
"Markets are arguably pricing in a clearly dovish speech. Should
Yellen suggest that the more hawkish [Fed] members are starting to
influence her thinking then we could see significant volatility:
most likely higher bond yields, lower equities," said analysts at
Rabobank.
Safe-harbor bonds gained Friday, pulling U.S. 10-year Treasury
yields down to 2.40%, while 10-year German yields fell to 0.98%,
slightly above their recent record low.
In currency markets, the euro nudged up 0.1% to $1.3290 against
the dollar. The common currency has weakened in recent months as
investors expect the ECB to consider fresh easing measures while
the Fed moves toward rate hikes.
With alarmingly low inflation in the euro zone, investors will
be on the lookout for any hints of new policies from Mr.
Draghi.
"Although our base case scenario remains for no change of ECB
stance, an unexpected shift in message cannot be ruled out. At the
very least we suspect Draghi will be cautious not to stand in the
way of the recent depreciation in the euro," said currency
strategists at BNP Paribas.
In commodities markets, gold was up 0.4% at $1,280.60, while
Brent crude oil was down 0.2% at $102.43 a barrel.
Write to Tommy Stubbington at tommy.stubbington@wsj.com