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Stocks increase a little as Treasury yields touch 4-month high, oil prices cool

A global equity index rose a little on Monday while Wall Street stocks were muted as U.S. bond yields hit their greatest levels because late November and financier optimism about the outlook for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts subsided.

The dollar index moved as financiers focused on U.S. inflation information due later on today, while the yen dipped to near 34-year lows, with traders staying alert for any potential action from Japanese authorities to support the weakening currency.

Oil costs fell on Monday on a restored push for a Middle East ceasefire. A Hamas official said no development had been made on Gaza ceasefire talks in Cairo while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated a date was set for an invasion of Rafah, the enclave's last sanctuary for displaced Palestinians.

Stock markets had made a sluggish start to the 2nd quarter as the danger of a more comprehensive dispute in the Middle East had actually pushed up oil costs to their highest level considering that October.

Also, a much stronger-than-expected U.S. tasks report on Friday after solid production information caused investors to temper bets on a Federal Reserve rate cut in June.

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee stated on Monday that the Fed must weigh just how much longer it can maintain its current interest rate stance without it harming the economy.

People are capturing their breath from the underwhelming performance recently. Even with the bounce in markets on Friday, there was more damage done than constructive rate action to markets overall, stated Michael James, handling director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles.

Likewise on investors' minds was the upcoming earnings season, which starts on Friday with reports from some of the biggest U.S. banks, according to Wedbush's James.

There's elevated anxiety going into the start of incomes season for those in the bullish camp. We require to see some decent prints and raised assistance, said James.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11.24 points, or 0.03%, to 38,892.80, the S&P 500 lost 1.95 points, or 0.04%, to 5,202.39 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 5.44 points, or 0.03%, to 16,253.96.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe increased 1.60 points, or 0.21%, to 778.11. Previously in Europe the STOXX 600 index had closed up 0.47%.

In addition to revenues, financier focus today was also on the U.S. consumer cost index (CPI) report due out on Wednesday.

And while countless individuals in North America looked upward to witness an uncommon solar eclipse, trading volume on Wall Street was quiet with about 9.55 billion shares altering hands compared to the 11.53 billion average for the last 20 sessions.

It's probably a much better day to enjoy the eclipse than it is to trade stocks, said Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio supervisor at InfraCap in New York. I do not believe anyone wants to truly reposition one way or the other ahead of CPI.

U.S. Treasury yields moved higher on Monday as fixed earnings investors reduced their expectations for how deeply the Fed will have the ability to cut rates of interest this year after the tasks report.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes increased 4.6 basis indicate 4.424%, from 4.378% late on Friday while the 30-year bond yield increased 2.3 basis points to 4.5548%.

The 2-year note yield, which generally moves in step with rates of interest expectations, increased 6.3 basis points to 4.7949%, from 4.732% late on Friday.

In currencies, the dollar index fell 0.2% at 104.15, with the euro up 0.2% at $1.0857. Versus the Japanese yen, the dollar reinforced 0.16% at 151.85.

In energy markets, oil settled above its session lows however still lost ground for the day. U.S. unrefined settled down 0.55% at $86.43 a barrel while Brent LCOc1 settled at $90.38 per barrel, down 0.87% on the day.

Meanwhile, gold costs struck a record high for a seventh directly session on Monday, sustained by reserve bank purchases and geopolitical stress, while strong economic information stopped working to dull bullion's attraction.

Area gold added 0.37% to $2,338.29 an ounce. U.S. gold futures acquired 0.58% to $2,339.10 an ounce.

(source: Reuters)