By Chris Prentice and Samuel Indyk
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Global equities broadly gained on Thursday as treasury yields slid after a rate cut in the UK and prospects of upcoming policy easing in the United States boosted global bonds.
European shares bucked the rally, with financial and auto stocks dragging.
The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday but opened the door to a cut in September. The Bank of England stole a march on the Fed on Thursday by lowering borrowing costs by a quarter-point in a narrow 5-4 vote.
Oil futures rose on the risk of a broadening Middle East conflict. Gold prices were under pressure from a stronger U.S. dollar.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 1.01 points, or 0.12%, to 813.15 by 10:15 a.m. ET (1415 GMT)
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 gained 12.64 points, or 0.23%, to 5,534.94 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 85.02 points, or 0.48%, to 17,684.42.
U.S. tech stocks have made an extraordinary comeback after the recent sell-off. AI darling Nvidia rallied 13% on Wednesday, adding about $330 billion in stock market value.
Tech giants Apple and Amazon.com will report their earnings later on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 154.19 points, or 0.38%, to 40,688.60.
In Europe, major markets were mostly lower. The STOXX 600 index fell 0.76%, while Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 15.38 points, or 0.77%.
“The fact that some heavyweights are cutting guidance does not bode well going forward and might well explain why European markets are underperforming,” said Stephane Ekolo, equity strategist at TFS Derivatives.
“Disappointing set of results, slowing growth for industrials, Chinese consumers no longer there to rescue demand and a possible resurgence of inflation. You have a not so pleasant cocktail.”
Britain’s FTSE 100 bucked the trend.
“If you look at the headlines that Bailey produced: caution on cutting too quickly or by too much, it implies to me that they’re looking at a steady quarterly pace of reductions,” said Colin Asher, economist at Mizuho.
“I would say that makes a cut in the next meeting in September unlikely. The start of lower interest rates is underway, but reasonably gradually.”
Emerging market stocks rose 5.33 points, or 0.49%, to 1,090.10. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.54% higher at 568.59.
Japan’s Nikkei, however, tumbled 2.5% as a sharp jump in the yen clouded the outlook for exporters. [.T]
The Japanese yen rallied to as much as 148.51 per dollar its strongest level since March 15, a day after the Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the second time in 17 years and signalled more tightening to come.
It was last down 0.2% at 150.24.
FED SIGNALS SEPTEMBER CUT
Eyes remained on the U.S. monetary policy outlook after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said policymakers had a “real discussion” about cutting at the July meeting.
The central bank also said the risks to employment were now on a par with those of rising prices.
As a result, markets – which have already bet on a September cut – are wagering on a 10% chance that the Fed may go for a 50 basis points easing in September. For all of 2024, they have priced in a total easing of 72 basis points.
“The statement was notable in that they removed the tightening bias and replaced it with a more neutral bias,” said Jan von Gerich, chief analyst at Nordea.
“It’s early but the fact we haven’t really seen the rally continue suggests that markets may be trying to catch some breath before tomorrow’s payrolls report.”
Treasuries extended their gains from Wednesday with the
yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes down 12.5 basis points to 3.98% after dropping to a March low during the previous session. Yields move inversely to prices.
After falling 0.4% on Wednesday, the dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, gained 0.14% at 104.20.
The euro was down 0.18%. Sterling dropped 0.4% after the BoE’s rate cut.
In commodity markets, oil prices extended their gains on the threat of a wider Middle East conflict, with Brent crude futures up 0.05% at $80.88 per barrel. [O/R]
Gold added 0.03% to $2,448.93 an ounce. [GOL/]
(Reporting by Chris Prentice, Samuel Indyk, Stella Qiu and Ankur Banerjee; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum)
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