WASHINGTON- Global stocks rallied to close higher as strong earnings from US technology companies and OPEC+ plans for moderate oil output helped to counter jitters over weak economic reports.
Investors also shrugged off the pace of central banks’ interest rate hikes.
The STOXX index of 600 European companies rose 0.45 percent, up for a third straight session, to recoup nearly half its losses during January’s global rout in shares.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.80 percent.
Crude oil eyed seven-year highs and the dollar eased. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.63 percent and the S&P 500 gained 0.94 percent.
The Nasdaq Composite added 0.5 percent. Last month, the tech-heavy index fell as much as 19 percent from its all-time high in November as investors dumped highly valued growth stocks on prospects of faster-than-expected rate hikes.
“The temptation to step in and buy into the sell-off in high growth stocks should be avoided,” said Andrew Slimmon, a managing director at Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
“Once the fever breaks, it’s done for quite a while.”
An unexpected decline in private payrolls helped stabilize US Treasury yields as investors weighed its potential impact on Friday’s broader jobs report.
Record high euro zone inflation of 5.1 percent in January defied expectations of a drop to 4.4 percent, sending German government bond yields to multi-year highs and the euro surging.
The European Central Bank has insisted that price growth is temporary and benign, but markets will be looking for any change in tone when it meets on Thursday.
“The unexpectedly high inflation rate is a slap in the face for the ECB. It will have to finally recognize the massively increased inflation risks and take its foot off the pedal of monetary policy,” said Joerg Kramer, chief economist at Commerzbank. – Reuters
