The Associated Press
Stocks are edging slightly higher in early trading on Wall Street as corporate earnings start to flow in and as traders look ahead to a highly anticipated market debut of Coinbase, a major digital currency exchange. The S&P 500 was up less than 0.1% in the early going Wednesday, a day after setting its latest record high. Goldman Sachs jumped nearly 3% after reporting a surge in earnings,. JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo also reported strong results but their stocks were down in early trading. Crude oil prices were up 2%, European markets were mixed and bond yields rose.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
BEIJING (AP) — Global stock markets and Wall Street futures rose Wednesday after traders shrugged off higher U.S. inflation and a decline in Japanese machinery orders.
London and Paris opened higher while Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul rose. Tokyo was off less than 0.5%.
On Tuesday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index climbed 0.3% to a new high, propelled by tech and consumer stocks on optimism the vaccine rollout will allow business activity to return to normal. Johnson & Johnson fell 1.3% after U.S. regulators suspended use of its single-dose vaccine to investigate possibly dangerous blood clots.
The U.S. government reported consumer prices increased by a stronger-than-expected 0.6% in March, the fastest rate since 2012. Higher inflation normally fuels fears interest rates might be raised to keep prices stable, but the Federal Reserve has said the economy will be allowed to “run hot” to ensure a recovery is in place.
Traders “took the well-telegraphed inflation ‘pick-up’ in stride,” Stephen Innes of Axi said in a report. Markets also are “seemingly unfazed” by the J&J suspension.
In early trading, London’s FTSE 100 was up less than 0.1% at 6,896.64. Frankfurt’s DAX declined less than 0.1% to 15,222.10 while the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.2% to 6,196.15.
On Wall Street, the future for the S&P 500 index was up less than 0.1% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was unchanged.
The Dow, which includes J&J, fell 0.2% on Tuesday. The Nasdaq, with more technology stocks, gained 1.1%.
In Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.6% to 3,416.72 and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 1.3% to 28,855.83.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo shed 0.4% to 29,620.99 after government data showed February machinery orders fell by an unexpectedly wide margin of 8.5% from the previous month, adding to concern about the country’s recovery.
The Kospi in Seoul was up 0.4% at3,182.38 and Sydney’s S&P-ASX 200 gained 0.7% to 7,023.10.
Indian markets were closed for a holiday. New Zealand and Jakarta advanced.
Singapore declined after the government reported unexpectedly strong first-quarter economic growth of 0.2% over a year ago. The central bank left monetary policy unchanged.
Investors have been encouraged by the rollout of coronavirus vaccines despite renewed disease outbreaks that have prompted some governments to tighten or reimpose business and trade curbs.
But worries about the potential loss of a vaccine option pulled lower companies that are counting on pandemic restrictions easing. American Airlines slipped 1.5% and Delta Air Lines fell 1.1%.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury fell to to 1.62% from Monday’s 1.67%.
In energy markets, benchmark U.S. crude rose 76 cents to $60.94 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract advanced 48 cents on Tuesday to close at $60.18. Brent crude, the international price standard, gained 79 cents to $64.46 per barrel in London. It added 39 cents the pervious session to $63.67 a barrel.
The dollar declined to 109.00 yen from Tuesday’s 109.09 yen. The euro rose to $1.1965 from the previous session’s $1.1946.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
