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International stocks edge below latest all-time highs

European stocks were mostly lower on Friday, edging below current alltime highs in a. relocation attributed to profittaking after a busy week of main. bank moves, while UK stocks were increased by the Bank of England. being viewed as more dovish.

A surprise rate cut from Switzerland's central bank on. Thursday assisted press markets to new highs, as traders understood. that significant central banks all over the world would not always. wait on U.S. Federal Reserve rate cuts before delivering their. own.

Wall Street rallied over night, with all three major indexes. extending their streak of record highs. However belief turned. more mindful on Friday.

At 1239 GMT, the MSCI World Equity Index was down 0.1% on. the day, but up 1.9% on the week as an entire, on track for its. biggest weekly gain up until now this year.

In a busy week for markets, traders drew confidence not only. from Switzerland's rate cut on Thursday, however also from the Bank. of England being more dovish than expected. The BoE stated the. economy is moving in the right instructions for it to begin. cutting rates.

Europe's STOXX 600 was down 0.1%, after touching a. brand-new all-time high, while London's FTSE 100 was up 0.5%,. assisted by expectations that the Bank Of England would cut rates. earlier than formerly believed. BoE Guv Andrew Bailey. stating in a Financial Times interview that the expectation of. more rate of interest cuts this year on a whole was not. unreasonable.

MSCI's Europe index was down 0.4% and France's CAC. 40 was likewise down 0.4%.

Wall Street futures were up, as traders waited for. commentary from Fed Chair Jerome Powell later in the day.

The U.S. Federal Reserve said at its conference on Wednesday. that current high inflation readings had actually not altered the. underlying story of slowly easing price pressures.

I believe there might be some profit-taking at the end of the. week, just because of the quantity of data that we've seen and the. fact that we have seen more positive surprises, said Baylee. Wakefield, multi-asset fund supervisor at Aviva.

Trading may also lower in the lead-up to the Easter. weekend, Wakefield included.

The U.S. dollar index was up 0.4% at 104.23, on track. for its best week since the first week of the year.

The dollar's basically going to have its finest week since. Because markets are now accepting that other, January and that is. major reserve banks will decrease their policy rate much faster than. the Fed, particularly due to the fact that we have actually had additional evidence from the. strong financial data we've had out of the U.S. today,. Aviva's Wakefield said.

U.S. out of work claims suddenly fell, sales of formerly. owned homes increased by the most in a year in February and U.S. organization activity held constant in March, data this week showed. A. gauge of future economic activity in the U.S. turned positive in. February for the time in 2 years.

The euro was down 0.3% at $1.0828. The probability. of a European Central Bank rate cut before summer season is increasing,. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel stated.

The British pound was down 0.3% at $1.26175, having. earlier hit a one-month low.

Euro zone federal government bond yields were set for a weekly. decrease. The benchmark German 10-year yield was down by 6 basis. points at 2.334%.

China's yuan dropped greatly during Asian trading, striking a. four-month low, in a relocation analysts attributed to rising. expectations that there will be more financial relieving to prop up. the nation's economy.

Oil costs were stable, with international benchmark Brent hovering. above $85 per barrel. The possibility of a ceasefire in Gaza had. pushed costs lower previously in the session. The more powerful dollar. and lower U.S. fuel demand also weighed on prices.

Gold was down 0.3% at $2,174.48 per ounce, having struck. a record quote high of $2,222.39 on Thursday.

Investment streams into gold in the week to Wednesday reached. their highest in almost a year, Bank of America Global Research. said.

(source: Reuters)