March 7, 2024
United States:
US Stock Buybacks to Hit $1 Trillion in 2025, Goldman Says
US share buybacks are set to surpass $1 trillion next year for the first time ever, thanks to strong megacap technology earnings, strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.
For 2024, the bank expects S&P 500 stock repurchases to grow by 13% to $925 billion and a further 16% in 2025 to just over $1 trillion, rebounding from last year’s decline. Easier lending conditions as central banks cut rates, as well as the removal of political uncertainty after the US election should also help, Goldman added.
Europe:
ECB Interest Rates Held as Weaker Inflation Raises Prospect of Cuts
The European Central Bank left interest rates unchanged for a fourth meeting as a softer outlook for inflation and economic growth bolstered expectations for cuts starting in June.
The deposit rate was kept at a record 4% — as all economists surveyed by Bloomberg predicted. The Governing Council reiterated that maintaining this level of borrowing costs for “sufficiently long” will make a “substantial contribution” to returning consumer-price growth to the 2% goal.
Asia:
BOJ Bets Swing Toward March Rate Hike
Speculation surged that the Bank of Japan will move this month to raise interest rates for the first time since 2007, after a flurry of reports and wage figures helped drive up the yen, bond yields and overnight swaps.
Bets on the March 18-19 meeting are gaining traction as reports emerge that some BOJ officials favor an early move while some government officials also support a rate hike. Economists and investors are largely in agreement that the central bank will scrap the world’s last remaining negative rate either this month or in April.
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