Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, February 28:
1. President Trump's address to Congress
U.S. President Donald Trump will make his first major address to Congress on Tuesday at 9:00PM ET (02:00GMT Wednesday), with investors hoping he will shed light on his promises of tax reform and infrastructure spending.
Market players will also be eager to learn more about Trump's plans for repealing the Affordable Care Act and reducing regulations on businesses.
Ahead of his speech in Congress, Trump will appear on Fox News at 6:00AM ET (11:00GMT). Some market commentators believe Trump might preempt his speech by announcing part of his plans.
White House budget officials told reporters Monday that Trump's first budget will call for a $54 billion increase in defense spending and a corresponding cut in what his administration deems lower priority programs.
2. U.S. GDP, Fed speakers ahead
Besides Trump, markets Tuesday will get plenty of economic data, including a second reading on fourth quarter GDP at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT). There is S&P/Case-Shiller home price data at 9AM ET and Chicago PMI at 9:45AM ET. At 10AM ET (15:00GMT), consumer confidence is released.
A recent string of solid data reinforced the view that the U.S. economy is sufficiently robust to warrant higher interest rates in the months ahead.
There are also a few Fed speakers on Tuesday. Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan will be on CNBC's "Squawk Box" at 7:30AM ET (12:30GMT), Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker speaks at 3PM ET (20:00GMT) on the economic outlook, while San Francisco President John Williams speaks at 3:30PM ET.
Investors raised their outlook on a faster pace of U.S. rate increases after Kaplan, who is a voting member on the central bank's rate-setting committee this year, on Monday repeated his view that it would be prudent for the U.S. central bank to raise interest rates sooner rather than later.
Fed fund futures priced in about a 30% chance of a rate hike in March, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool. Odds of a May increase was seen at 53%, while June odds were at around 73%.
3. Global stocks in holding pattern before Trump speech
U.S. stock market futures pointed to a muted open near all-time highs on Tuesday morning, as investors looked ahead to President Donald Trump's speech to Congress.
President Trump has been credited with being a major catalyst behind the stock market's impressive rally in recent weeks, although he has yet to outline his economic policies in detail.
In Europe, stocks hunted for direction in mid-morning trade, as investors digested fresh corporate earnings and waited for details on tax reform in the U.S.
Earlier, in Asia, markets ended mostly higher, with the Shanghai Composite in China closing up around 0.4%, while Japan's Nikkei tacked on about 0.1%.
4. Dollar little changed ahead of Trump
The dollar was little changed against the other major currencies on Tuesday as traders showed caution before President Trump’s address to Congress.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was steady at 101.10 in New York morning trade.
Treasury yields were little changed, with the U.S. 10-Year bond at around 2.363%.
Against the yen, the dollar lost 0.3% to 112.36, but still held above Monday's nadir of 111.92, which was its lowest since February 9.
Meanwhile, the euro was up 0.1% on the day at 1.0589, as concerns about France's upcoming election eased following favorable opinion polls for independent presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron.
5. Oil creeps lower as traders await API stockpile data
Oil prices crept lower on Tuesday, as investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products.
U.S. crude was down 10 cents, or around 0.2%, to $53.95, while Brent shed 10 cents to $56.32 a barrel.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (21:30GMT) later on Tuesday. Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock rise of 2.9 million barrels.
Oil prices have been trading in a narrow $5 range around the mid-$50s over the past two months as sentiment in oil markets has been torn between hopes that oversupply may be curbed by output cuts announced by major global producers and expectations of a rebound in U.S. shale production.