Stocks up, bond yields fall as markets mull a Fed policy pause
US shares jump
European shares dip as UK, Switzerland and Norway hike rates
Dollar stuck near 7-week low after mixed Fed message
Oil prices slip in commodity markets
Updates prices
By Koh Gui Qing
NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks jumped on Thursday, pushing up globalstock indexes,and Treasury yields fell, after investors took comfort that the Federal Reserve might pause its interest rate rises to offset the turmoil in financial markets.
The gains in U.S stocks offset loses in Europe, where a post-Credit Suisse rebound sputtered to a halt as Switzerland, Norway and Britain all showed the year-long cycle of sharp interest rate rises was by no means over.
The Fed's hint of a pause after announcing a quarter-point rate rise on Wednesday, even as it re-stated its commitment to fight inflation, provided relief to markets. But decisions bySwitzerland's SNB to jack up rates despite a torrid week following the takeover of Credit Suisse and by theBank of England to hoist borrowing costs after a nasty inflation surprise were reminders not to get carried away.
By early afternoon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI was up 0.53%,the S&P 500 .SPX climbed 0.85%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC jumped 1.56%.The gains helped MSCI's main world share index .MIWD00000PUS to jump 0.85%.
Stephen Innes, a managing partner at SPI Asset Management, said investors are betting that despite the Fed's vows to tame inflation, there is a chance "the Fed loses its nerve and downshifts anyway.
"Note the modern-day history book of Fed pauses is very bullish for stocks," Innes said.
In Europe, news of therate hikes in Switzerland and Britain helped pushthe European-wide STOXX 600 share index .STOXX down 0.21%. The banking sector was again a drag, with the index of top European banks .SX7P down 2.53%.
Investor bets of a more dovish Fed put the dollar on the back foot, with the dollar index =USD flatafter hitting a seven-week low earlier in the session. The pound barely budged, having already added to its near 5% rally over the last fortnight with a 0.22% rise to $1.22969 GBP=.
John Leiper, Titan Asset Management's chief investment officer, said the BoE's hike came as no surprise following Wednesday's painful inflation data.
"We think there is more to come," he added, although he cautioned the result could be a recession.
Fed chief Jerome Powell had said that, while inflation remained a problem, the current stresses in the banking sector could have a significant impact on the U.S. economy, thereby reducing the need for rate rises.
Germany's hawkish European Central Bank rate setter, Joachim Nagel, on Wednesdaysaid he thought euro zone rates were "approaching restrictive territory," referring to a level that curtails growth.
"I do not know when we will more or less be there," he said at an event in London. "But what I know is that when we are there we have to stay there and not come down too early."
Both the euro EUR=EBS and yen JPY=EBS remained up on the day after the SNB's half-point hike. FRX/
BRIGHT FUTURES
U.S. stocks sold off on Wednesday after U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers that she had not considered or discussed creating "blanket insurance" for U.S. banking deposits without approval from Congress.
Markets are now pricing in an approximately 65% chance of the Fed pausing at its next meeting, in May, and a 35% chance of a 25-basis-pointrise.
For bond markets it meant European government bond yields - which reflect borrowing costs - were heading down again. German Bunds were back at 2.25%, having seen 10-year U.S. Treasury yields US10YT=RR dip back below 3.5%.
Among commodities Brent oil LCOc1, which has fallen nearly 9% this month, slipped 0.53% to$76.28 a barrel. Gold, which benefits from a more dovish Fed and which isup more than 8% for March, rose 1.38% to$1,996.81 an ounce. GOL/
"The thought of peak U.S. rates being within reach is bolstering (gold) prices," said Han Tan, chief market analyst at Exinity. "As long as market expectations for a 2023 rate cut remain intact, gold may well revisit the psychologically important $2,000 mark."
World FX rates YTDhttp://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Global asset performancehttp://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
Asian stock marketshttps://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Global markets in 2023https://tmsnrt.rs/3K12Sdf
Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Alex Richardson, Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler
To read Reuters Markets and Finance news, click on https://www.reuters.com/finance/markets For the state of play of Asian stock markets please click on: 0#.INDEXA
Relaterade tillgångar
Senaste nytt
Ansvarsfriskrivning: XM Group-enheter tillhandahåller sin tjänst enbart för exekvering och tillgången till vår onlinehandelsplattform, som innebär att en person kan se och/eller använda tillgängligt innehåll på eller via webbplatsen, påverkar eller utökar inte detta, vilket inte heller varit avsikten. Denna tillgång och användning omfattas alltid av i) villkor, ii) riskvarningar och iii) fullständig ansvarsfriskrivning. Detta innehåll tillhandahålls därför uteslutande som allmän information. Var framför allt medveten om att innehållet på vår onlinehandelsplattform varken utgör en uppmaning eller ett erbjudande om att ingå några transaktioner på de finansiella marknaderna. Handel på alla finansiella marknader involverar en betydande risk för ditt kapital.
Allt material som publiceras på denna sida är enbart avsett för utbildnings- eller informationssyften och innehåller inte – och ska inte heller anses innehålla – rådgivning och rekommendationer om finansiella frågor, investeringsskatt eller handel, dokumentation av våra handelskurser eller ett erbjudande om, eller en uppmaning till, en transaktion i finansiella instrument eller oönskade finansiella erbjudanden som är riktade till dig.
Tredjepartsinnehåll, liksom innehåll framtaget av XM såsom synpunkter, nyheter, forskningsrön, analyser, kurser, andra uppgifter eller länkar till tredjepartssajter som återfinns på denna webbplats, tillhandahålls i befintligt skick, som allmän marknadskommentar, och utgör ingen investeringsrådgivning. I den mån som något innehåll tolkas som investeringsforskning måste det noteras och accepteras att innehållet varken har varit avsett som oberoende investeringsforskning eller har utarbetats i enlighet med de rättsliga kraven för att främja ett sådant syfte, och därför är att betrakta som marknadskommunikation enligt tillämpliga lagar och föreskrifter. Se till så att du har läst och förstått vårt meddelande om icke-oberoende investeringsforskning och riskvarning om ovannämnda information, som finns här.
