In This Article:
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Drop in euro zone inflation bolsters market mood
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Nikkei rises 1%, Hong Kong up 0.6% after China PMIs beat f'casts
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2-yr Treasuries enjoy biggest monthly rally since 2008
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Euro up 3% this month, yen 2.5% higher, gold surges 8%
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Markets wait for euro zone inflation, U.S. PCE data
By Marc Jones
LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Share markets pushed for a fifth straight day of gains on Friday and bonds headed for their best month since 2008, as a record monthly drop in the euro zone's inflation rate raised investors' expectations for similar U.S. data later in the day.
With an action-packed first quarter also drawing to a close world stocks were consolidating a 6% year-to-date rise. Government bonds have gained as much as 5%, gold is 8% higher, while oil is down and the dollar has barely budged.
Also making headlines on Friday, was Donald Trump's indictment for paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, making him the first former U.S. president - and potential challanger in the next election - to face criminal charges.
The euro zone inflation numbers showed consumer prices rising 6.9% in March after an 8.5% increase in February, representing the sharpest deceleration since Eurostat started collecting data in 1991.
"The brakes are on the economy, but slowly," said Hans Peterson, the global head of asset allocation at SEB investment management. "So down the road we will have to see what the central banks do."
Europe's main stock markets and Wall Street futures were all up around 0.3% after Asian equities overnight notched up their first March gain in four years.
That part of the world has been lifted by China casting off its COVID restrictions. MSCI Asia ex-Japan has added 3.6% so far this year after surging 12% in the final quarter of 2022.
Japan's Nikkei also jumped 1% on Friday，as inflation data for the capital Tokyo highlighted broadening price pressures.
China and Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose modestly too after China's PMI data showed that the recovery in the services sector was gathering pace and manufacturing activity expanded faster than expected.
Investors were also still cheering a major revamp plan by internet giant Alibaba which has seen its shares make a whopping 17% this week and been taken as a sign that Beijing's regulatory crackdown might be over for now.
Fellow Chinese e-commerce firm JD.com Inc jumped 6% too after it announced similar plans to spin off its property and industrial units.
CENTRAL FOCUS
Wall Street was set for another modest rise after Thursday saw gains for tech stocks but falls in regional bank shares after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said banking regulation and supervisory rules need to be re-examined in the wake of recent turmoil.