- As toll crosses 100, Trump puts Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- China stocks soar on stimulus, but US and Europe retreat
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- China stocks soar on stimulus, Europe slides on automaker woes
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- E.Guinea, Gabon clash at ICJ over oil-rich islands
- New blow for UK's Starmer as growth data disappoints
- China's top banks to tweak mortgage rates to boost housing market
- Muslim women break taboos navigating east London's waterways
- Nepal dam-building spree powers electric vehicle boom
- More than 60 dead from storm Helene as rescue, cleanup efforts grow
- Dozens missing, 9 dead in migrant boat wreck off Spanish Canaries
- Death toll from Hurricane John hits eight in Mexico
- Storm Helene's toll rises as rescue and cleanup efforts gain pace
- SpaceX launches mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding as cleanup begins
- SpaceX set to launch mission to return stranded astronauts
- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
RBGPF | 7.18% | 64.75 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.14% | 7.05 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.21% | 24.72 | $ | |
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GSK | 0.42% | 40.88 | $ | |
NGG | -0.09% | 69.67 | $ | |
CMSD | -1.21% | 24.78 | $ | |
RIO | -0.08% | 71.17 | $ | |
RELX | -0.21% | 47.46 | $ | |
BCE | -1.12% | 34.8 | $ | |
JRI | 0.66% | 13.67 | $ | |
VOD | -0.7% | 10.02 | $ | |
BTI | -0.71% | 36.58 | $ | |
AZN | 0.37% | 77.91 | $ | |
BP | -0.1% | 31.39 | $ |
Global stocks mostly up despite another historic inflation report
Stock markets mostly rose and oil prices climbed Wednesday as investors pored over data showing further spikes to inflation.
A day after a report showed US annual consumer inflation in March hit the highest since December 1981, another release showed wholesale price inflation hit a record annual rate of 11.2 percent.
Meanwhile in Britain, data showed that UK prices had jumped at the fastest pace in three decades in March.
Global inflation, already rocketing on supply constraints as economies look to fully reopen following pandemic lockdowns, is rising further on fallout from the Ukraine war.
Analysts said markets had welcomed an indication that US inflation was approaching its peak, though it has raised expectations that the Federal Reserve will take more aggressive action to contain prices.
Still, Wall Street enjoyed a buoyant session, with the broad-based S&P 500 piling on 1.1 percent.
Chris Low of FHN Financial said investors want to balance their portfolios after selling off shares in anticipation of the worrisome inflation data.
"People were short going into the week, but they don't want to be short for the holiday weekend," Low said.
US markets will be closed on Friday for Good Friday.
In Europe, London and Paris ended the day barely in positive territory, while Frankfurt dipped.
The gains on Wall Street also came despite a lackluster start to the corporate earnings season, as JPMorgan Chase saw its first-quarter net profit plunge by more than 40 percent as it set $900 million aside to deal with potential losses due to the Ukraine conflict and inflation.
Shares in JPMorgan Chase fell 3.2 percent.
Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines surged 6.2 percent as it reported a quarterly loss of $940 million, but said healthy consumer demand was translating into strong enough pricing to offset spiking fuel costs
- Oil rises -
Oil prices climbed further in a volatile trading week.
"Having rebounded strongly yesterday, oil prices are showing little sign of softening after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that peace talks with Ukraine were a 'dead-end situation'," said market analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets UK.
Russia is a major producer of oil and gas and the war has triggered fears of supply constraints.
In currency trading, the yen hit its lowest level against the dollar in two decades, extending recent falls as the gap widens between Japan's ultra-loose monetary policy and Fed tightening.
Despite being traditionally considered a haven currency, uncertainty fueled by the war in Ukraine has not caused the yen to strengthen.
Instead, the Fed's move towards a more aggressive rate-tightening policy and the shock of rising oil prices in Japan -- a major importer of fossil fuels -- have pushed the currency lower, analysts said.
- Key figures around 2100 GMT -
New York - Dow: UP 1.0 percent at 34,564.59 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.1 percent at 4,446.59 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 2.0 percent at 13,643.59 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,580.80 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 6,542.14 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3 percent at 14,076.44 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,827.96 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.9 percent at 26,843.49 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 21,374.37 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8 percent at 3,186.82 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: UP 4.0 percent at $108.78 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 3.6 percent at $104.25 per barrel
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0894 from $1.0828
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3109 from $1.3001
Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.03 pence from 83.29 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 125.59 from 125.38 yen
burs-jmb
M.Mendoza--CPN