The Japan Times - Global stocks push higher as US inflation shows signs of moderating

Following a positive day in European and Asian stock bourses, Wall Street stocks enjoyed another session entirely in positive territory, finishing higher for a third straight session.

It's been a blistering 2022 thus far for US equities as the Federal Reserve has launched aggressive steps to tighten monetary policy in response to inflation.

But the Dow finished at 33,212.96, up 1.8 percent for the day or 6.2 percent for the week. The index had posted weekly losses the last eight weeks.

"The market itself was oversold and we knew that we were overdue for a bounce," Quincy Krosby, chief equity strategist of LPL Financial.

A catalyst was Commerce Department data that showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index climbed 0.2 percent after several months of accelerating at more than twice that pace.

The data gives support to the argument from stock market bulls that the US economy is moving past -- or has progressed from -- a period of "peak inflation" -- indicating there will be less grim consumer price news in the months ahead.

The report also showed US personal income rose 0.4 percent in April compared to March, and consumers continued to increase spending.

"Encouragingly, the latest US personal spending data showed that US consumers were still inclined to spend money with a rise of 0.9 percent, which was slightly higher than markets had been expecting," said Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

Meanwhile, oil prices also forged higher, with Brent futures ending up 1.7 percent at $119.43 a barrel. Analysts cited speculation of a compromise deal in the European Union to ban Russian crude imports.

Back in Asia, investors were in a buying mood as Hong Kong jumped more than two percent, with market heavyweight Alibaba piling on more than 11 percent and search engine Baidu advancing 15 percent.

The two firms posted better-than-expected sales growth in the January-March quarter, soothing fears about the impact of Covid and inflation on their bottom lines.

Hong Kong's tech index jumped nearly three percent, with other giants also enjoying buying interest with JD.com and Meituan sharply up.

The reports were much-needed pieces of good news out of the world's second-biggest economy, which is being battered by lockdowns in major cities as leaders refuse to budge from their zero-Covid strategy.

- Key figures at around 2100 GMT -

New York - Dow: UP 1.8 percent at 33,212.96 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 2.5 percent at 4,158.24 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 3.3 percent at 12,131.13 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,585.46 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.6 percent at 14,462.19 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.6 percent at 6,515.75 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.8 percent at 3,808.86 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.7 percent at 26,7781.68 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 2.9 percent at 20,697.36 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.2 percent at 3,130.24 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0739 from $1.0725 on Thursday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2631 from $1.2600

Euro/pound: DOWN at 84.99 pence from 85.12 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 127.09 yen from 127.12 yen

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.7 percent at $119.43 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $115.07 per barrel

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M.Ito--JT