(Updates prices throughout, adds analyst quote)
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Wall Street stocks advance in choppy trading
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Fed rate cut keeps investors upbeat
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European shares finish week slightly lower
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Gold prices rise, crude oil falls
By Chibuike Oguh and Elizabeth Howcroft
NEW YORK, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose in
choppy trading on Friday and were on track for a weekly gain
driven by positive sentiment on Wall Street following key
central bank decisions.
The U.S. Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a
percentage point on Wednesday, the first rate cut since
December, while Norway and Canada also cut rates.
On Wall Street, all three indexes were trading higher a day
after hitting record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average
rose 0.29% to 46,277, the S&P 500 rose 0.29% to
6,650.93, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.45% to
22,571.
European shares finished down 0.16%, and for the
week were down 0.13%.
Japan's Nikkei fell 0.57% after the Bank of Japan
decided to start selling its holdings of risky assets. MSCI's
gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.09% to
980.09, hovering near a record high reached in the previous
session, and was poised to add 0.82% for the week.
Investors are betting that central bank rate cuts will boost
stocks further.
"The market for the past several weeks has all been focused on
and relying on the Fed meeting and the Fed's decision, and there
was enough in the decision to leave everyone just slightly
disappointed though basically satisfied," said Michael Farr,
chief executive of investment advisory firm Farr, Miller &
Washington in Washington.
The Fed stopped short of endorsing market expectations for a
clear string of rate cuts, emphasizing a meeting-by-meeting,
data-dependent approach. The Fed's tone, along with the wide
range of views within the central bank, disappointed some
investors, who had hoped the stock market would be boosted by a
rapid shift to lower rates, analysts said.
"Markets have done exceptionally well and now markets are
looking for the next driver or the next bit of news," Farr said.
"I think as we probably get into earnings season in October,
those reports will be more important than ever because we need
to see and the Fed needs to see if tariffs are indeed making
their way into bottom-line profits."
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose
3.3 basis points to 4.137%. The 2-year note yield,
which typically moves in step with interest rate expectations
for the Fed, rose 1.2 basis points to 3.568%.
Following their first call in three months, U.S. President
Donald Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping made
progress on a TikTok agreement and would meet face-to-face in
six weeks in South Korea to discuss trade, illicit drugs and
Russia's war in Ukraine.
A stopgap spending bill that would avert an Oct. 1
government shutdown fell short in the U.S. Senate on Friday. The
bill had been passed by the House of Representatives.
The U.S. dollar index rose for a third straight
session, up 0.28% to 97.61, but was still set to notch a third
straight week of losses.
The dollar strengthened 0.35% to 0.795 against the Swiss
franc, but was down 0.07% to 147.88 against the
Japanese yen.
The euro was down 0.3% against the dollar at
$1.1751.
The British pound fell, down 0.58% on the day at $1.34975
.
The Bank of England on Thursday kept rates on hold, but slowed
the pace at which it is unloading the government bonds it
purchased in previous crises.
European government bond yields rose, with Germany's 10-year
yield falling 0.3 basis points at 2.747%. While
shorter-dated bonds have benefited from expectations for rate
cuts, longer-dated bond yields have risen on investor concern
about government finances.
Oil prices were down, as traders' worries about fuel demand
outweighed the boost that oil prices would typically get from a
U.S. rate cut.
Brent crude futures were down 1.22% at $66.62 a
barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures lost
1.32%, to $62.73.
Gold was up 0.77% at $3,672.02, heading for its fifth
straight week of gains.