Global stocks headed for their first weekly gain in three amid a surge in commodity prices, while traders braced for a key U.S. jobs report later on Friday that could provide clues on when the Federal Reserve will ease back on monetary stimulus. MSCI’s benchmark for global equity markets .MIWD00000PUS, which tracks stocks in 50 countries, edged up about 0.1%, on course for a 0.4% gain this week. Its broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose about 0.5% on Friday, while Japan’s Nikkei .N225 gained about 0.2%. China’s ...

Shares rose to near record highs on Thursday, underpinned by a better outlook from Europe’s leading carmaker Volkswagen and increasing confidence in economic recovery in Germany and more widely. The STOXX index of 600 European companies was up 0.2% at 442.50 points, just below its record high of 443.61. The MSCI’s broadest gauge of world stocks, ACWI, was up 0.18% at 700.98 points, about 10 points short of its record high set last month. “I have seen nothing in this week’s price action to change my view that ultimately the ...

Global shares edged up on Wednesday as U.S. stock futures steadied after a pullback in tech darlings while European markets were buoyed by accelerating business activity and positive earnings. The Euro STOXX index added 1.3%, heading for its best day in nearly two months, helped by data showing euro zone business activity quickened last month, while the services industry returned to growth. Top performers included Germany’s Rational and Merck after well-received numbers. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was trading 0.1% higher after a sell-off ...

World share indexes stayed near all-time highs on Tuesday and the dollar and government bond yields tip-toed higher, as some of the biggest global economies pushed on with easing COVID-19 restrictions. Sensitive cyclical sectors including mining, travel and energy helped drive modest early gains in Europe where British markets were also playing catch-up after an extended holiday weekend. Bond market borrowing costs were also inching up, although signs that the world’s major central banks remain in no rush to reel in their massive stimulus schemes kept them below recent 13-month ...

Global shares extended gains on Thursday after the Federal Reserve said it was too early to consider rolling back emergency support for the economy, and U.S. President Joe Biden proposed a $1.8 trillion stimulus package. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was 0.2% higher, on course for its best month since November. The pan-European STOXX 600 opened 0.4% firmer, while E-mini futures for the S&P 500 index rose 0.4% and Nasdaq futures advanced 0.6%. U.S. Treasury yields advanced 1.8 basis points to 1.6486, still short ...

Asian shares struggled to make firm gains on Wednesday as already high valuations discouraged investors from buying equities ahead of a closely-watched U.S. Federal Reserve meeting. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan declined 0.12%. Australian stocks rose 0.47%, but shares in China slipped 0.06%. South Korean stocks fell 0.99%. Stocks in Tokyo edged 0.46% higher. S&P 500 e-mini stock futures rose 0.14%. Euro Stoxx 50 futures were up 0.25%, German DAX futures up 0.16%, FTSE futures up 0.31%, pointing to a positive start to European trading. Fed Chairman ...

European stocks clawed their way higher on Monday as world markets began the week in a relatively upbeat mood following further signs last week that economies are recovering rapidly. The start to the week was relatively quiet, however, as investors refrain from taking on large positions ahead of a two-day Federal Reserve meeting beginning on Tuesday and quarterly gross domestic product numbers for the United States. But the general sentiment remained bullish with Wall Street hitting another intraday record-high on Friday and European shares not far off record highs in ...

The reopening story is now getting very real, at least for Wall Street. The latest earnings reports are chock-full of companies reporting earnings above expectations, and most importantly, raising guidance. Take steel maker Nucor, which reported what CEO Leon Topalian called the “most profitable quarter in our Company’s history” on improved pricing and margins. “We expect earnings for the second quarter of 2021 to exceed our first quarter results, setting a new record for quarterly earnings. Most of the end-use markets we serve remain strong and inventories remain lean across ...

U.S. equity funds received their lowest inflows in seven weeks in the week ended April 21, pressured by rising coronavirus cases, which have cast doubts over global economic recovery. According to Refinitiv Lipper data, U.S. equity funds took in $878 million in the week, the lowest since the week ended March 3. U.S. major equity indexes, the &P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have slipped from record high levels, led by a slump in travel-related shares on renewed worries over the pandemic. Among sector funds, tech and healthcare had ...

Investors poured $16.4 billion into global bond funds and $14.9 billion into money market funds in the week ending April 21, according to Refinitiv Lipper data, as concerns about a global rise in COVID-19 cases prompted moves towards safer assets. The inflows at global bond funds were roughly 2% higher than in the previous week, the data showed. The massive inflows into money market funds came after an outflow of $50 billion in the last week. However, global equity funds saw inflows of $10.8 billion, around 33% less than in ...

European stocks were on track for their first weekly loss in eight and Bitcoin hit its lowest in nearly seven weeks on Friday as investors assessed the impact of a possible U.S. capital gains tax hike. President Joe Biden will roll out a plan to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans, including the largest-ever increase in levies on investment gains, to fund about $1 trillion in childcare, universal pre-kindergarten education and paid leave for workers, sources familiar with the proposal said. Biden’s administration is seeking an increase in the capital ...

Asian shares advanced on Friday, lifted by rising Chinese blue-chips and a decision by the European Central Bank to maintain stimulus, while investors largely shrugged off the impact of a possible U.S. capital gains tax hike. But equity markets in Europe were set to open lower after two days of gains. In early European trades, pan-region Euro Stoxx 50 futures STXEc1 were down 0.25%, German DAX futures FDXc1 slipped 0.35% and FTSE futures FFIc1 shed 0.43%. Modest moves in equities markets contrasted with ructions in cryptocurrencies as investors fretted over ...

Global stocks ground higher while oil ebbed on Thursday as markets haggled over whether to bet on economic recovery in the United States and other developed markets or worry about a surge in COVID-19 cases in countries including India. The push-pull of that trading dynamic comes as vaccination rates in Britain and other countries continue to improve and pandemic-weary citizens embrace more freedoms to drive economic growth, something reflected in some recent corporate earnings. After a recent mini sell-off, MSCI’s broadest gauge of stocks across the globe was up 0.3% ...

Emerging market stocks tumbled on Wednesday as a second wave of COVID-19 infections threatened further disruption in major economies, while Russia’s rouble weakened ahead of a speech on economic growth by President Vladmir Putin. The MSCI’s index of emerging market stocks fell 1.1% and was poised for its worst day since March 24, with bourses across Asia weighing the most. New COVID-19 related restrictions in India threatened to throw a wrench into an otherwise steady global economic recovery. The EM space has been hit hard by a second wave of ...

Global stocks gained on Wednesday as early indications of a rebound in European corporate earnings offset concerns over rising COVID-19 infections in Asia that have dampened oil prices. The STOXX index of 600 European shares was up 0.7% at 436.76 points. Analysts said a 1.9% fall on Tuesday, its worst session this year, was overdone and the benchmark remains near its record high of 443.61 points hit on Monday. MSCI’s index of global shares fell 0.2%. It too had reached record highs on Monday. “We have seen seven weeks or ...