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Sydney - European stocks were little changed after Asia’s strongest week since March, as investors awaited US inflation data and earnings from some of America’s biggest banks.
Asian shares advanced and the Australian dollar was at its highest this year in the wake of dovish comments from US policy makers that also weighed on the dollar.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a fresh high as Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen reiterated her intention to tighten only gradually. US Treasuries and sovereign bonds across Europe were higher. The yen headed for its first weekly gain in five.
US consumer inflation due later on Friday will be scrutinized as Yellen said it’s premature to conclude that the underlying trend of prices is falling short of the Fed’s 2% target.
Investors also get clues on how choppy data during the second quarter translated into corporate earnings when JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co and Citigroup report results. US retail sales and industrial production figures are also due.
Mario Draghi will attend this year’s US Federal Reserve symposium in Jackson Hole, opening the possibility that he could send a message on the European Central Bank’s bond-buying programme as the euro area becomes less reliant on stimulus.
Here are the main moves in markets:
Currencies and bonds
The pound and euro were up 0.2% as of 09:24. The yen rose 0.1% to ¥113.19/$ and the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was down 0.1% near its lowest since September.
The Aussie rose 0.3% to 77.55 US cents, its highest since November 9. The 10-year US Treasury yield fell one basis point to 2.34%, while sovereign yields across Europe also declined. The yield on 10-year Australian notes rose three basis points to 2.72%.
Stocks
The Euro Stoxx was little changed after 1.8% rally over the past two days. S&P 500 Index futures fell 0.1%. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.4%, extending this week’s advance to 2.7%. Japan’s Topix Index added 0.4%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained was steady after advancing 4% this week, the most in a year.
Commodities
WTI crude was steady at $46.09 a barrel after a weekly advance of 4%. Gold was up 0.1% at $1 218.64 an ounce.
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