US stocks were in the green on Thursday, with the S&P 500 adding 0.3% to hit new highs, while the Nasdaq was up 0.3% and the Dow Jones rose almost 200 points as investors digested the latest US CPI report. The data came largely in line with expectations, showing annual inflation accelerating to 2.9% while core inflation held steady at 3.1%. However, headline CPI rose 0.4% on the month, above forecasts of 0.3%. The report did little to shift market expectations for a Fed rate cut next week, with investors nearly fully pricing in three cuts by year-end. Meanwhile, initial jobless claims...
European stocks closed higher Thursday, as investors reacted to the latest policy decision by the European Central Bank as well as key U.S. inflation data. The DAX index in Germany climbed 0.3%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.9% and the FTSE 100 in the U.K. rose 0.8%. ECB meeting All eyes Thursday were on Frankfurt as the ECB concluded its latest policy-setting meeting, with policymakers keeping interest rates on hold, as widely expected, with inflation largely on target, but an uncertain growth and political outlook kept further easing open. The ECB cut its key deposit rate to 2% in June,...
The Nikkei 225 rose 0.7% to around 44,700 and the Topix gained 0.5% to 3,165 on Friday, with Japanese equities hitting fresh record highs in step with Wall Street's overnight rally. On Thursday, all three major US benchmarks closed at all-time highs as evidence of a cooling labor market and contained inflation strengthened expectations for deeper Federal Reserve rate cuts. In Japan, investors weighed the Bank of Japan's policy outlook against mixed economic indicators and ongoing political uncertainty. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba recently announced his resignation, facing mounting...