NEW YORK :Global stocks were higher and poised for a weekly gain while longer-dated U.S. Treasury yields rose after a reading on inflation and consumer confidence kept expectations for the path of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts intact.
The U.S. producer price index for final demand was unchanged in September, slightly below the forecast of economists polled by Reuters for a gain of 0.1 per cent and follows an unrevised 0.2 per cent increase in August, indicating inflation continues to cool and giving the Fed leeway to continue cutting interest rates.
In the 12 months through September, the PPI increased 1.8 per cent versus the 1.6 per cent estimate.
“The annual numbers are a little higher and it’s going to take a little time to go through why that is the case, (but) there’s nothing specifically in this number to make markets … change the narrative,” said Steve Sosnick, chief market strategist at Interactive Brokers.
The data comes after Thursday’s consumer price index was slightly higher than expected as good costs increased.
In a separate report, the University of Michigan’s preliminary reading on the overall index of consumer sentiment came in at 68.9 this month, compared with a final reading of 70.1 in September and below the 70.8 estimate as high prices frustrate buyers.
On Wall Street, U.S. stocks advanced in the early stages of trading, lifted by a jump of more than 4 per cent in bank shares after several names such as JP Morgan, up 4.7 per cent and Wells Fargo, which gained 5.3 per cent, kicked off earnings season with their quarterly results.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 293.26 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 42,746.38; the S&P 500 rose 32.88 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 5,812.71; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 57.21 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 18,339.26.
Gains were capped,