LDN - Business

Global stocks rise and dollar falls, with focus on Fed and China

[November 15, 2022] By Harry Robertson and Scott Murdoch

LONDON/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Global stocks ticked higher and the dollar slipped on Tuesday as a fall in U.S. inflation and an improving outlook for China's economy continued to cheer investors.

Equities and bonds jumped last week after data showed that U.S. inflation slowed down by more than expected in October, raising hopes the Federal Reserve will let up on the interest rate hikes which have battered economies and markets this year.

The immediate sugar rush has faded but the mood has remained relatively bright, with the MSCI All World stock index rising 0.44% on Tuesday to 617.48. It has jumped more than 6% since the inflation data was published.

The dollar was last down 0.46% against Japan's yen to 139.26, just above Thursday's three-month low. Meanwhile, the euro rose 0.85% against the greenback to a more than four-month high of $1.041.

"Markets are driven by two factors in the moment. One is optimism that inflation data in the U.S. is peaking out ... and on top of that we've had growing optimism that we could see China adopt more growth-friendly policies," said Lee Hardman, currency analyst at MUFG.

However, Chris Turner, global head of markets at ING, said the dollar is likely to strengthen again as concerns about the global economy return to the fore.

"We're more in the camp that it hangs around near the highs a bit longer," he said. "We haven't got world growth."

Chinese and Hong Kong stocks rallied overnight as investors digested China's COVID-19 policy adjustments, a property sector rescue package, and a cooling in tensions between the U.S. and China. Beijing last week eased some of its strict COVID rules, though there has been a sharp increase in new infections in some cities this week.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged 4.11% overnight. The index is up nearly 25% for the month while China's CSI 300 has gained 10% in that time.

U.S. President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping held a three-hour meeting on Monday in Bali on the sidelines of the G20 gathering. Investors welcomed the two countries' pledge of more frequent communications.

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People walk past an electric board showing Japan's Nikkei share average in Tokyo, Japan September 14, 2022. REUTERS/Issei Kato

"There was positive mood music out of the G20 with Biden and Xi's meeting," said ING's Turner.

Europe's Stoxx 600 index was roughly flat after three days of gains. Futures for the U.S. S&P 500 stock index were up 0.62%.

Investors awaited U.S. producer price index (PPI) figures due out later on Tuesday as well as a speech from Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker. Analysts cautioned that a strong PPI reading could sour the mood in still-fragile markets.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 6 basis points on Tuesday to 3.809%, its lowest since early October. The yield, which moves inversely to the price, stood as high as 4.338% at the end of October but has plunged in recent days.

Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard on Monday struck a relatively upbeat tone, saying it will "probably be appropriate to soon move to a slower pace" of interest rate hikes.

Data out on Tuesday showed that the British unemployment rate rose in September. German business sentiment saw a stronger-than-expected rise in the closely watched ZEW survey.

Oil prices were little changed, with Brent crude down 0.3% to $92.90 a barrel.

Bitcoin was up 0.9% to $16,734 but remained around 20% lower for the month. The collapsed FTX crypto exchange outlined a "severe liquidity crisis" in official bankruptcy filings released on Tuesday.

The Group of 20 (G20) meetings continued in Indonesia, with leaders considering a draft resolution on Tuesday in which most members condemn the war in Ukraine.

(Reporting by Harry Robertson and Scott Murdoch; Editing by Edwina, Bradley Perrett, Simon Cameron-Moore and Ken Ferris)

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