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Stocks inch higher, euro dips; focus on Fed remarks, information

Worldwide stock indexes edged higher on Monday as financiers absorbed remarks from Federal Reserve policymakers while the euro fell against the dollar as business activity readings of the euro zone economy disappointed.

U.S. Treasury

yields rose

as bond financiers continued to price out near-term economic downturn worldwide's largest economy.

U.S. policymakers'

remarks were in focus

after the Fed recently began a relieving policy with a. half-point interest rate cut.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari called the cut. the ideal choice while Bank of Chicago President Austan. Goolsbee said he anticipated much more rate cuts over the next. year.

Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic said. the U.S. economy is close to regular rates of inflation and. unemployment and the Fed needs monetary policy to normalize as. well.

The U.S. rate futures market has priced in 51% possibility of. a smaller 25-bp cut at the November Fed conference, with a 49%. probability of the larger 50-bp easing, according to LSEG information. For the rest of the year, the futures market is suggesting cuts of. around 77 bps.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 59.96. points, or 0.14%, to 42,123.32, the S&P 500 increased 18.65. points, or 0.33%, to 5,721.20 and the Nasdaq Composite. rose 49.35 points, or 0.28%, to 17,998.05.

stocks registered

It's a little bit of a pause thinking about the exuberance. of last week. There's nothing financial right now that's alarming. the market aside from the Fed going a little additional than anyone. anticipated, said Phil Blancato, CEO of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset. Management.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe. rose 2.75 points, or 0.33%, to 840.12. The STOXX 600. index increased 0.36%.

On the information front, a study put together by S&P Global. revealed euro zone service activity dramatically contracted this month. as the bloc's dominant services industry flat-lined, while a. recession in making accelerated.

In contrast, U.S. service activity was steady in. September, however typical prices charged for items and services. increased at the fastest rate in 6 months, possibly pointing to an. acceleration in inflation in coming months.

The dollar index, which determines the greenback. against a basket of currencies consisting of the yen and the euro,. was bit altered at 100.79, while the euro was down. 0.25% at $1.1134. Versus the Japanese yen, the dollar. weakened 0.02% to 143.88.

U.S. yields on the long end of the curve - those from. seven-year notes to 30-year bonds - reached three-week highs.

That further steepened the yield curve, a barometer of. U.S. economic prospects, with the space between two and 10-year. yields hitting favorable 17.9 basis points (bps). That is the. best given that June 2022.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes. increased 4.7 basis points to 3.775%, from 3.728% late on Friday.

Oil prices alleviated even as financiers stressed over supply. after tensions in the Middle East intensified. U.S. crude. fell 0.58% to $70.59 a barrel and Brent was up to $74.08. per barrel, down 0.55% on the day. Spot gold increased 0.34%. to $2,630.79 an ounce.

Financiers are weighing whether global financial easing. may have started far too late to stop a downturn from taking hold.

China's central bank has actually reduced its 14-day repo rate by. 10 basis points, days after disappointing markets by not cutting. longer-term rates.

The Swiss National Bank fulfills on Thursday and markets are. completely pricing a quarter-point cut to 1.0%, with a 41% possibility it. will reduce by 50 basis points.

(source: Reuters)