PANews, November 14th - Hawkish signals from Federal Reserve officials dashed market hopes for a December rate cut, coupled with a still-confused data calendar and concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble, causing global stock and precious metal markets to suffer heavy losses on Friday. Blue-chip markets from Tokyo to Paris and London all fell sharply, exacerbated by renewed concerns about the upcoming UK budget. US stock index futures signaled a bleak opening for Wall Street, which had already fallen sharply on Thursday. Jeremy Stretch, head of foreign exchange strategy at CIBC Markets, said, "Our expectations for a December rate cut are back to 50/50, and this, combined with concerns about an artificial intelligence bubble, has destabilized market sentiment, which has become volatile this month." Meanwhile, the White House dashed market hopes for a quicker clarity on the US economic situation, stating that October's US unemployment data might never be available, reinforcing the view that the Fed might pause its actions until more definitive information is available.


