SYDNEY, 12th June, 2024 (WAM) -- Global stocks rose on Wednesday, underpinned by positive sentiment in technology shares, while the dollar dipped ahead of a key U.S. inflation report and Federal Reserve policy decision that could determine the near-term outlook for interest rates, Reuters reported.
European equities rose, recovering some of the losses earlier this week stemming from nervousness over the political landscape in France, where President Emmanuel Macron called a snap parliamentary vote after his party was trounced in European Union elections by the far right.
Overnight on Wall Street, Apple surged 7 percent to a record high a day after it unveiled new AI features meant to rekindle demand for iPhones. That helped the Nasdaq Composite rise 0.9 percent and the S&P 500 gain 0.3 percent to record closing highs.
Today's U.S. CPI
Focus is now pinned on the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) later in the day, which is forecast to rise a slim 0.1 percent in May from a month earlier, but with the core up 0.3 percent.
The MSCI All-World index rose 0.1 percent on the day. In Europe, the STOXX 600 gained 0.5 percent, rising for the first time in four days.
U.S. stock futures were up 0.2 percent, indicating a modestly stronger start on Wall Street later.
On the Asian markets, Chinese blue chips ended the day mostly steady, as still-soft price data failing to lift sentiment much. Data showed on Wednesday that China's consumer prices fell 0.1 percent in May from a month earlier, missing forecasts. On an annual basis, they rose 0.3 percent.
Dollar stands tall
In the currency markets, the dollar index eased on the day, but held on to its post-payrolls gains since Friday, trading at 105.10.
The euro rose 0.2 percent to US$1.0762, but has fallen for the previous three days, on the back of nerves over the French election might mean for politics and policy.
French stocks and bonds have been battered this week, as political uncertainty has unnerved investors and prompted three ratings agencies to warn the snap election poses a risk to the country's credit standing.
The euro is around its weakest in almost two years against the pound too. Sterling was up 0.2 percent against the dollar at US$1.2764, shrugging off data that showed the UK economy did not grow at all in April, after a strong start to 2024.
The Fed is not expected to make any change to interest rates at its policy meeting. Instead, the focus will be on whether it keeps three rate cuts in its "dot plot" projections for this year.
Futures imply 39 basis points of Fed easing for this year.
Bonds, commodities
Treasuries, which rallied overnight on the robust result of a 10-year Treasury auction, steadied. The 10-year yield edged down 1 basis point to 4.396 percent, after falling 7 bps in the previous session.
Oil prices rose for a third straight session. Brent futures rose 1 percent to US$82.77 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures gained 1.2 percent to trade at US$78.86.
Gold prices edged 0.1 percent lower to US$2,313 per ounce.