Global stocks gain on in-line US inflation, retreating treasury yields

The global equity index advanced on Thursday after anticipated US inflation reading, which provided little surprise for relieved investors and helped push US Treasury yields lower.

Wall Street’s major stock indexes rebounded from the previous session’s decline due to investor jitters ahead of the US personal consumer expenditures (PCE) price index data. The PCE data showed the annual increase in inflation was the smallest in nearly three years, keeping the possibility of a June interest rate cut by the Fed on the table.

Market movements reflect a relief that traders and investors are not seeing a re-acceleration in inflation, which impacts fixed income markets and equity markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54.76 points, while the S&P 500 gained 11.86 points and the Nasdaq Composite gained 78.00 points.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 1.21 points to 759.34. The STOXX 600 ended Thursday’s session unchanged, while the German DAX climbed 0.4% to a fresh all-time high.