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MSCI All Country World Index hits record
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Euro STOXX 600 gains 0.5%
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U.S. inflation data below expectations, easing stagflation
fears
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Fed rate cut expected, boosting Wall Street and Asian
markets
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Nikkei hits record high above 43,000
(Updates prices in early European trading hours)
By Tom Wilson and Rocky Swift
LONDON/TOKYO, Aug 13 (Reuters) -
Global share markets hit a record and the dollar was subdued
on Wednesday, as investors cheered mild inflation data and signs
of resilience in major economies, and expectations of a U.S.
rate buoyed demand for riskier assets.
The MSCI All Country World Index of
shares climbed for a second day and reached 950.13, an all-time
high. Japan's Nikkei stock index, meanwhile, set a fresh
peak for a second-straight session.
European stocks advanced 0.5%, with German
shares adding 0.6%. Tech and defence stocks led the
gains.
U.S. inflation readings, which on Tuesday showed the
consumer price index (CPI) rising slightly less than forecast in
the year through July, indicated President Donald Trump's import
tariffs had yet to filter down to consumer prices.
That helped Wall Street scale new heights, supported by
increasing certainty that the Federal Reserve will cut interest
rates next month.
"The fact that CPI was broadly as expected was met with
relief, leading to equity gains and tighter credit spreads as
investors became increasingly confident about another rate cut,"
Deutsche Bank analysts wrote.
Trump's signing of an executive order pausing triple-digit
levies on Chinese imports for another 90 days also boosted
optimism.
Wall Street was also set for gains, with a gauge of S&P
500 futures up 0.7%.
In Japan, a Reuters poll that tracks the Bank of Japan's
quarterly tankan business survey showed the Japanese
manufacturers' sentiment index improved for a second straight
month.
Another report showed Japan's wholesale inflation slowed in
July, underscoring the central bank's view that upward price
pressure from raw material costs will ease.
The Nikkei rose for the sixth straight day,
breaking the 43,000 level for the first time and hitting a fresh
record high.
Risk-sensitive cryptocurrency ether rose to an
almost four-year high above $4,679.
FED CUT
The dollar index, which tracks the greenback
against a basket of major peers, fell for a second day. It was
last down 0.2% at 97.80
The dollar fell 0.2% against the yen to 147.47.
The euro added 0.3% to $1.1706, after a 0.5% jump in the
previous session.
Traders are pricing in a 94% chance of a Fed cut in
September, up from about 57% a month ago, according to the CME
FedWatch tool.
Investors had been on tenterhooks about the inflation data
because it followed a surprisingly weak jobs report on August 1
and had the potential to stoke concerns about stagflation - when
an economy suffers both high inflation and high unemployment.
Trump has nominated White House adviser Stephen Miran to
temporarily fill a vacant board seat at the U.S. central bank,
stirring up speculation about presidential interference in
monetary policy.
And the White House said it was "the plan" that the Bureau
of Labor Statistics would continue to publish its closely
watched monthly employment report after Trump's pick to head the
agency, E.J. Antoni, proposed suspending its release.
Speculation the labour report would be halted has "done the
USD no favours and would have only incentivised foreign
investors to review their hedging ratios on U.S. investments,"
Chris Weston, head of research at Pepperstone, said in a note.
In sovereign bond markets, German 30-year bond yields fell
on Wednesday, retreating from the previous day's 14-year high.
U.S. crude fell 0.2% to $62.99 a barrel.