How Economic News Moves Markets

Abstract

Exploring how the release of new economic data affects most prices in the stock, bond, and foreign exchange markets, the authors find out that only a few announcements - the nonfarm payroll numbers, the GDP advance release, and a private sector manufacturing report - generate price responses that are economically significant and measurably persistent. Bond yields show the strongest response and stock prices the weakest. The authors' analysis of the direction of these effects suggests that news of stronger-than-expected growth and inflation generally prompts a rise in bond yields and the exchange value of the dollar.

Keywords: economic news, asset price, high frequency rate, macroeconomy

JEL Classification: E00, G00