Global stocks were little changed on Wednesday, taking a breather after a six-day slide amid a mixed inflation outlook, as supply concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine helped buoy prices. of the oil.
* US stock futures pointed to an open 0.5% to 0.7% higher on Wall Street.
* Anti-inflationary measures by the world’s major central banks have weighed on equity markets since the start of 2022, with the MSCI World Index down around 10%.
* On Wednesday, UK inflation hit 7%, a 30-year high, but this came a day after weaker-than-expected US data gave some traders reason to expect a faster pace. slow in adjusting monetary policy.
* At 1052 GMT , the MSCI World Index was flat at 689.97 points, weighed down by declines in most major European indices, with the STOXX 600 down 0.3% but off its lows, and the UK FTSE 100 up 0.1%.
* During the Asian session, much weaker-than-expected import data from China weighed on the outlook, but added to views that Beijing may ease monetary policy further, helping the broader index of MSCI ‘s Asia-Pacific shares excluding Japan rose 0.6%.
* US consumer prices posted their biggest rise in 16-1/2 years in March as the war in Ukraine pushed gasoline prices to record highs, though underlying inflationary pressures eased.
* Following the previous day’s decline, the 10-year Treasury yield was higher on Wednesday and traded at 2.7348%, after hitting a more than three-year high of 2.836% prior to the inflation data. . The two-year yield was 2.3953%.
* Oil prices rose after Russian President Vladimir Putin said peace talks with Ukraine had reached an impasse, fueling supply concerns, with Brent crude futures rising 1.5% at $106.23 a barrel.
* Corn futures were down 0.2% but still near last month’s 11-year high. Gold rebounded from its lows and was up 0.5% at $1,976 an ounce.
* In currency markets, the euro was unchanged against the dollar, but just above a five-week low. The dollar index was up 0.1% against a basket of currencies.