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Shares rally, yields fall with ECB, Powell and United States tasks driving markets

European and U.S. shares extended rallies on Thursday, and benchmark bond yields fell after the European Central Bank held rates of interest stable and Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that alleviating was likely in 2024, if inflation behaved.

The yen rose and stocks in Tokyo fell overnight, with market changes before Friday's important February payrolls report.

While the ECB left its policy rate at a record high, it took a first, little step towards decreasing it, stating inflation was alleviating faster than it expected just a few months earlier.

That sent out the pan-European STOXX 600 to a. record high, up 1.09%, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300. index increased 22.04 points, or 1.11%.

Powell on Wednesday testified

before your house Financial Services Committee that rate. decreases will most likely be suitable this year if the. economy progresses broadly as anticipated and as soon as authorities gain. more self-confidence in inflation's constant decline. He repeated those. comments before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

There was nothing particularly surprising within Fed. Chair Powell's prepared financial policy testament to Congress,. stated James Knightley, primary global financial expert at ING.

More information is required, however with more evidence of a. cooling jobs market we still think they can cut rates from. June.

On Wall Street stocks opened higher, on track to. continue their record run.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 236.19. points, or 0.61%, to 38,898.02. The S&P 500 got 49.38. points, or 0.97%, at 5,154.26 and the Nasdaq Composite. innovative 192.96 points, or 1.20%, to 16,224.01.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe. increased 6.77 points, or 0.88%, to 772.65.

It's never ever been a bad thing to have integrated worldwide. central bank policy. By that I mean the ECB is on a comparable. trajectory as the Federal Reserve is, said Art Hogan, chief. market strategist at B Riley Wealth in New York.

Such coordinated action would stabilize currencies, he. said.

The dollar was heading toward its most significant fall because. late December versus the yen which increased on information showing. Japanese workers' small pay surged in January, after the. nation's major employment union won big pay walkings in 2024 wage. talks.

BOJ board member Junko Nakagawa signified her conviction. that conditions for phasing out negative rates were now falling. into location.

Versus the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened. 0.84% at 148.12. The rise in the yen weighed on Japan's Nikkei. , which fell 492.07 points, or 1.23%, to 39,598.71.

The dollar index fell 0.34% at 102.99, with the. euro up 0.24% at $1.0923.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 1.23% at. $ 67,286.00, hovering under Tuesday's record high above $69,000. Ethereum declined 0.35% at $3837.2.

The 10-year Treasury note yield continued a. week-long slide to its

lowest in about a month

before steadying. It was up 0.6 basis point to 4.11%, from. 4.104% late on Wednesday.

That followed a similar drop in German Bund yields.

Gold rates

hit an all-time high

on Thursday as Powell's remarks promoted expectations for. lower U.S. interest rates this year, which would make zero-yield. gold more appealing to investors.

Area gold rose 0.34% to $2,155.53 an ounce. U.S. gold futures fell 0.01% to $2,150.10 an ounce.

Oil prices slipped

On speculation that U.S. rate cuts could be delayed. upbeat Chinese trade information augured well for demand in the world's. top oil importer.

U.S. crude lost 0.87% to $78.44 a barrel and. Brent fell to $82.55 per barrel, down 0.52% to on the. day.

(source: Reuters)