LONDON: World stocks steadied, Treasury yields rose and the dollar held firm on Friday as markets took a cautious breather in the face of new concerns about the pace of the economic recovery from COVID-19.
"Swings in sentiment and positioning may prove to be powerful in both directions. But ultimately, the data will be key," said Mark Dowding, chief investment officer at BlueBay Asset Management. Overnight in Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan had briefly touched two-month lows before paring losses to trade down 0.1per cent. U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street, up 0.3per cent.Fears central banks could choke economic recovery by tightening policy to try to curb inflation, the rapid spread of the Delta variant and low rates of vaccination have darkened the outlook.
After dipping sharply over the early part of the week, yields on 10-year Treasury notes were on Friday up around 4.5 basis points to 1.336per cent, off the 4-1/2 month low of 1.25per cent hit on Thursday. In currencies, the safe haven yen was up 0.3per cent at 110.10 per dollar, heading for its biggest weekly rise since November. The euro dipped to US$1.1837.