LONDON, – Global shares edged higher and the dollar retreated on Wednesday following a stronger-than-expected U.S. wholesale inflation report.
Investors, according to Reuters are now keenly awaiting the consumer price index (CPI) report, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s future interest rate decisions.
The MSCI All-World share index reached a record high, rising 0.15%, bringing its gains for 2024 to 8.3%. In Europe, the STOXX index increased by 0.3%, driven by healthcare stocks, while U.S. stock futures remained flat.
The frenzy around meme stocks continued, with AMC and GameStop shares soaring over 25% in premarket trading, echoing the market activity of early 2021.
Investor sentiment remains cautious ahead of the U.S. CPI report, with expectations of a 0.4% rise in April, matching March’s increase. Despite recent hopes for rate cuts, persistently high inflation has tempered these expectations.
In other markets, China’s blue-chip index fell by 0.27% due to new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods. In the currency market, the dollar index fell 0.2%, while the euro rose 0.1% to a one-month high.
Oil prices climbed, with U.S. crude up 0.6% and Brent crude up 0.5%, amid concerns over Canadian wildfires and anticipated drops in U.S. crude inventories.
