With US stimulus coming and vaccine rollouts reopening economies against a backdrop of super-loose monetary policy, some analysts expect inflation to pick up. — Reuters picNEW YORK, March 13— An index of stocks across the world dipped yesterday but still posted its strongest weekly gain in five, while benchmark US Treasury yields climbed to 13-month highs, partly on optimism after a US$1.9 trillion recovery package was signed into law.
With US stimulus coming and vaccine rollouts reopening economies against a backdrop of super-loose monetary policy, some analysts expect inflation to pick up. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 293.05 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 32,778.64, the S&P 500 gained 4 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 3,943.34 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 78.81 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 13,319.87.
Emerging market stocks lost 0.69 per cent. Overnight, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan closed 0.64 per cent lower, while Japan’s Nikkei rose 1.73 per cent.“The bias in rates is still higher barring an unforeseen setback on the vaccines or explicit Fed action,” said Gregory Faranello, head of US rates at AmeriVet Securities in New York.
The recent, sharp, market moves give even more importance to next week’s meeting of the US Federal Reserve for clues to its views on rising yields and the threat of inflation.