Crude oil prices hit a five-month high on Wednesday due to turmoil in the oil-rich Middle East region and calls for OPEC+ members to maintain production cut strategies.
Euro zone stocks rose as falling inflation fueled expectations for interest rate cuts from the European Central Bank, but Wall Street stocks ended little changed after mixed U.S. data.
The earthquake in Taiwan shook the market, and Asian stocks mostly fell.
Gold soared to an all-time high of $2,230.15 per ounce, but pulled back slightly. The yellow metal rallied on haven demand on the back of geopolitical tensions and prospects for interest rate cuts.
Oil prices continued to rise, with Brent crude nearing $90 a barrel, as OPEC experts discussed extending supply cuts.
“Rising geopolitical risks related to escalating Middle East conflict, OPEC supply cuts and positive data from China are currently supporting the bullish sentiment,” said James Hart of Tickmill Group. Ta.
～Euro inflation slows down～
Paris Securities as investors focused on data showing annual inflation in the euro zone slowed to 2.4% last month from 2.6% in February as food and drink price increases continued to slow. The stock exchange rose 0.3%, while the Frankfurt market rose 0.3%.
Citi Index analyst Fiona Cincotta told AFP that slowing inflation and a deepening manufacturing slump “raised expectations that the ECB would start cutting interest rates in June and that stock prices would rise.” ” he said.
Traders have been pushing global stocks in recent months, buoyed by optimism that the Fed will begin monetary easing as early as June if U.S. inflation recovers toward the regulator's 2% target. has been pushed up.
But those hopes have faded after disappointing U.S. data on a range of indicators including inflation, factory activity and employment.
But Ventura Wealth Management's Tom Cahill said Wednesday's U.S. services report showed a retreat in prices in March and showed a better inflation picture than some recent data. He said he was encouraged.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell left open the possibility of lowering interest rates by the end of the year, but warned that cutting rates too early could cause chaos.
“But the risk of acting too soon is that inflation will actually rise,” he said, adding: “If we then have to go back to inflation, there will be quite a bit of disruption.” Ta.
However, if the U.S. economy continues to perform as expected, most Fed participants still expect it would be “appropriate to begin lowering interest rates at some point this year,” he said.
~Asia's struggles~
Markets across Asia struggled.
Tokyo's index fell by about 1%, while Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul and Manila fell further.
Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta also posted large deficits, while Bangkok and Mumbai rose.
Taipei stock prices fell after the deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck just off Taiwan's east coast, adding to uncertainty in the region but also with relief that the tsunami threat was over. .
Scope Markets analyst Joshua Mahoney said: “Taiwan today was rocked by its worst earthquake in 25 years, sending shockwaves through the market as investors try to assess the potential impact on the economy and supply chain. “I gave them,” he said.
– Main figures around 1530 GMT –
New York – Dow: down 0.1% to 39,127.14 (close)
New York – S&P 500: up 0.1% to 5,211.49 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: up 0.2% to 16,277.46 (close)
London – FTSE 100: flat 7,937.44 (closing price)
Paris – CAC 40: up 0.3% to 8,153.23 (close price)
Frankfurt – DAX: up 0.5% to 18,367.72 (close price)
Euro STOXX 50: up 0.5% to 5,069.25 (close price)
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: 1.0% lower at 39,451.85 (closing price)
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index: 1.2% lower at 16,725.10 (closing price)
Shanghai – Overall: down 0.2% to 3,069.30 (closing price)
Dollar/JPY: rose to 151.70 yen from Tuesday's 151.56 yen
EUR/USD: rose from $1.0770 to $1.0837
GBP/USD: up from $1.2578 to $1.2650
EUR/GBP: up from 85.62p to 85.64p
Brent crude: up 0.5% to $89.35 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: up 0.3% to $85.43 per barrel
birds jmb/bjt
