Indexes could turn red quickly if inflation for January ends up being worse than expected. US Consumer Price Index (CPI) data " may be key to whether the bond rout that has sent benchmark Treasury yields to two-year highs is likely to continue, with investors likely to price for more aggressive rate hikes if the number comes in stronger than expected", according to Morgan Stanley.

The data is expected to show that prices gained 0.5% in January, and are up 7.3% on the year, according to the Reuters consensus. Conversely, if the reading is better than expected, equities could get a welcome boost.

Meanwhile, earnings reports keep coming, with Redrow announcing that pretax profit and revenue both increased in the first half of fiscal 2022.

Unilever posted an increase in net profit for 2021, topping analyst expectations, and unveiled plans to launch a $3.43 billion share buyback program.

Another big name posting results is AstraZeneca, which saw yearly core earnings per share jump 32% after revenues gained 41% to $37.4 billion (£27.6 billion),including 3.9 billion dollars (£2.9 billion) in sales of its Covid-19 vaccine.

 

Things to read today:

Why Countries should restructure debts sooner rather than later (Financial Times)

The BOE’s £3 Billion Loss That Puts QE on Road To Fiscal Burden (Bloomberg)

Junk Bonds Climb on Prospect of State Support: Evergrande Update (Bloomberg)