S&P 500 Futures print mild gains, yields retreat as more clues eyed to reconfirm hawkish Fed bets

• Market sentiment appears mildly positive as traders reassess odds of Fed’s hawkish moves.
• Recession woes remain on the table even as Fed policymakers, US data tame economic slowdown fears.
• S&P 500 Futures pick up bids to reverse the previous day’s pullback from 10-week high, yields fade two-day uptrend.
• US PMIs, central bank comments are in focus, geopolitical issues also regain importance.

Risk profile remains slightly upbeat during early Monday as traders recheck the previously hawkish central bank bias amid a light calendar. Also favoring the corrective moves are the fears of recession and geopolitical tension, which in turn can keep the central banks off the rate hike trajectory.

While portraying the mood, the S&P 500 Futures print 0.20% intraday gains as it reverses the previous day’s pullback from the highest levels since early February around 4,172. That said, the US 10-year and two-year Treasury bond yields pare the previous week’s 3.0% gains with minor losses around 3.52%% and 4.10% respectively.

Mostly upbeat US data, mainly surrounding consumer sentiment and inflation, joined hawkish Fed talks to push back concerns surrounding the US central bank’s policy pivot, as well as the rate cuts, in the current year. The same allowed the US Dollar Index (DXY) to rebound from a one-year low, mildly bid around 101.75 by the press time.

Apart from that, a jump in China’s housing market data seemed to have also favored the market’s latest consolidation. That said, China's New Home Prices for   March jumped at their fastest pace in 21 months while marking a three-month uptrend.

Further, the looming fears of economic slowdown, mainly in the West, as per the latest analysis from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), keep the central bankers wary of hawkish moves. The same allow US Treasury bond yields to retreat, which in turn favors the Gold price to print mild gains around $2005, after snapping a four-day uptrend the previous day. It’s worth noting, however, that the Oil price retreats amid fears of demand depletion due to higher prices, as well as economic slowdown fears.

Elsewhere, the geopolitical challenges emanating from China, due to its eagerness to collaborate with Russia on global and regional security, as well as tussles with the US over Taiwan, prod the market sentiment.

Above all, a light calendar and lack of macros allow traders to pare the previous day’s heavy moves ahead of this week’s preliminary readings of PMIs for April.