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Global shares rose slightly on Friday as investors shrugged off concerns about large-cap technology stocks and turned their attention to next week’s upcoming meeting of key central banks.
Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 was 0.3 percent higher at mid-day in New York, recouping some of its losses from the previous session, while the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1 percent.
The moves came the day after technique stocks sold off sharply in the US and Europe as earnings reports from heavyweights Tesla and Netflix failed to impress investors.
“Right now there is a tug-of-war between encouraging inflation developments [ . . . ] and more cautious wording from businesses and their third-quarter earnings estimates,” said Mobeen Tahir, director of macroeconomic research at WisdomTree.
In Europe, the pan-regional Stoxx 600 index recovered from morning losses to end the day 0.3 percent higher. France’s Cac 40 added 0.7 percent. Germany’s Dax index was the only one in Europe to fall 0.2 percent.
Indexes were lifted as European energy shares rose on the tail of rising oil prices as investors expected Chinese officials to announce more measures next week to support the world’s second-largest economy.
Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose 1.3 percent to $80.63 a barrel, while U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate added 1.4 percent to $76.69 a barrel.
“The measures released so far have been insufficient compared to expectations [ . . . ] we could see more stimulus measures in the coming weeks, which should provide short-term support to the market,” Mohit Kumar, chief European financial economist at Jefferies, said in reference to China.
Ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting next week, investors expect the central bank to raise the benchmark federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage points to a target range between 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent.
The dollar, which tends to strengthen when investors expect higher rates, added 0.2 percent to a basket of six peers, hitting its highest point in more than a week.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield, which moves with inflation and growth expectations, fell 0.03 percentage point to 3.83 percent. Bond yields fall as prices rise.
“With inflation dynamics looking more encouraging, central banks are generally close to their cycle peaks in terms of tightening,” said Padhraic Garvey, ING’s head of regional research for the Americas.
The Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank will also meet next week to set interest rates.
Shares in Asia were mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng adding 0.8 percent while China’s benchmark CSI lost 0.1 percent.
