LONDON, March 29 Reuters A tumultuous first quarter is coming to an end and the buy everything party is in full swing across markets, but the coming week has a few reality checks that even the most avid bulls may not be able to overlook.
The strong dollar is giving major Asian central banks a headache and there are big questions to answer over the state of growth in the United States, China and the euro zone the world39;s three largest economic blocs. Some big data releases might answer them.
Here39;s your weekahead primer in world markets from Lewis Krauskopf in New York, Rae Wee in Singapore and Dhara Ranasinghe and Amanda Cooper in London.
1 SCORES ON THE DOORS
The dawn of Q2 is different to the first quarter. In January, markets priced in almost six rate cuts from the Federal Reserve this year a total of nearly 150 basis points. Now, just three are baked in.
Confidence in a soft landing has ignited an everything rally that has swept stocks, gold and cryptocurrencies to record highs.
The dollar, meanwhile, is riding high against almost every major currency, pushing central banks, including those of Japan, China and India, to intervene, or consider intervening, to bolster their currencies.
With the shift in the global interestrate cycle, low yielding assets are out and everything with a whiff of yield is in. The coming quarter will be the ultimate litmus of whether this view is right.
2 JOBS DAY
The April 5 U.S. jobs report will test investor confidence that…