2/2 © Reuters. A man wearing a protective mask, in the midst of the outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), walks past an electronic board showing (top) Nikkei index charts outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan , March 10, 2022. REUTERS / Kim Kyung-Hoon
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By Elizabeth Dilts Marshall
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Global equities rose on Thursday and the US dollar fell slightly, a day after minutes of the May meeting of the US Federal Reserve indicated that the central bank would remain flexible and could stop rate hikes later in the year.
Wall Street closed higher with the top three U.S. indices positioned for its biggest weekly gains since mid-March.
The MSCI benchmark for global equities rose 1.54% at 16:25 EDT (2025 GMT). Europe’s benchmark equities benchmark rose 0.78%, while the broader Asia-Pacific equities index outside of Japan fell 0.02%.
The .DJI rose 516.91 points, or 1.61%, to 32,637.19; .SPX gained 79.11 points, or 1.99%, to 4,057.84; and .IXIC added 305.91 points, or 2.68%, to 11,740.65.
All three indexes were on track to end their longest streak in decades of weekly falls.
The minutes of the Fed’s May meeting, released on Wednesday, showed that most Fed officials supported well-telegraphed rate hikes of 50 basis points each in June and July.
Bank of America (NYSE 🙂 analysts said the Fed could halt its tightening in September if the economy deteriorates.
Data on Thursday showed that the number of Americans applying for new unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, as the labor market remained tight. A separate report confirmed that the US economy contracted in the first quarter.
“Employment data will really drive the Fed’s outlook for the future,” said Brian Overby, senior options analyst at Ally. “If they see the unemployment rate rise a little bit, that could slow them down.”
The U.S. dollar fell 0.284% against a basket of world currencies. If the Fed becomes less aggressive when it comes to hardening, it would weaken the green dollar’s safe haven appeal.
The euro rose 0.44% to $ 1.0727.
U.S. Treasury yields rose slightly after the 10-year benchmark hit a six-week low, with signs of slower economic growth that eased fears about inflation.
The yield where it rose 2.7416% after falling to 2.706% at the beginning of the session.
“The 10-year treasury was almost 3% and has been withdrawn,” said Clark Kendall, chairman and CEO of Kendall Capital. “This is an indication that the market feels that the Fed is addressing the issue of inflation.”
In commodities, futures rose $ 3.37, or 3.0%, to $ 117.40 a barrel, while US crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 3. $ 76, or 3.4%, to $ 114.09.
The United States rose 0.17% for the last time to $ 1,849.50.
In Asia, Chinese chips reversed previous losses to rise 0.25% after struggling to find direction for most of the session, as investors worried about signs of a slowdown, but were comforted. with Prime Minister Li Keqiang’s comments on stabilizing the troubled economy.
South Korea’s central bank raised interest rates for a second straight meeting as it struggles with consumer inflation to its 13-year high.