Market Overview: Wall St poised to join stocks advance

When investors turned their attention to analysing their end-of-quarter positions, Wall Street prepared to follow the rise in global equities, which reached their highest level in three weeks on Thursday. This rise was supported by expectations that the crisis in the banking industry is resolved.

Government bonds in the euro zone benefited from Spain and Germany’s declining inflation rates.

The personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, which is coming on Friday, as well as U.S. non-farm payrolls the next week, were also being watched by the markets for clues about the trajectory of interest rates.

The dollar was somewhat lower, while crude oil prices increased as a result of an unexpected decline in U.S. stocks.

At their highest levels in three weeks, global stocks were up 0.3% and on track for a 4.9% quarterly gain.

The STOXX index of 600 top firms in Europe increased 1.3% to reach a two-week high.

The futures for US market indexes were approximately 0.5% stronger. The rate-sensitive Nasdaq is approaching its best quarter in more than two years and is up about 14% for the year.

The beneficiaries appear to be bonds and huge tech businesses, which often gain when interest rates decline, as the dust settles on a wild and tumultuous ride following Silicon Valley Bank’s failure, which sparked concerns of a larger financial crisis.

On Thursday, Asian stock markets maintained recent gains as traders debated whether Alibaba’s breakup was a sign that Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on digital businesses was finally abating.

Outside of Japan, the MSCI index of Asian-Pacific stocks increased 0.5%. Similar to the S&P 500, it has now risen from lows reached in March as a result of the ripple effects of Silicon Valley Bank’s demise on international markets.

The Nikkei index of Japan, which is on track to post a 6% quarterly increase, fell 0.3% on Thursday.

As speculators reduced some of their holdings that had been amassed over the previous several weeks, the U.S. dollar held its ground, especially versus the safe-haven Japanese yen.

The yen’s price to the dollar last traded at 132.495.