Pope Francis will visit crisis-hit Lebanon but only once its fractious politicians can agree on a new government, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri said during a visit to the Vatican on Thursday.
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LONDON (Reuters) - World share indexes stalled near all-time highs on Tuesday and the dollar and government bond yields tip-toed higher, as some of the biggest global economies pushed on with easing COVID-19 restrictions.
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: A passersby wearing a protective face mask is reflected on screen displaying the Japanese yen exchange rate against the U.S. dollar and stock prices at a brokerage, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan November 6, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
A surge in the price of almost everything, from wood and wheat to metals and microchips, has fuelled talk of an inflation spike.
Euro zone periphery govt bond yields tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr (Adds Greek issue, updates prices)
LONDON, May 4 (Reuters) - Euro zone bond yields fell on Tuesday, retreating from recent multi-month highs as volatility in stocks boosted demand for safe havens, giving bonds a respite from a recent heavy selloff.
U.S. and European stock markets saw a sudden 0.5% drop in hefty volumes around 1130 GMT on Tuesday, leaving traders scratching their heads and referring to the episode as a “micro flash-crash”.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which spent most of the morning trading unchanged, accelerated losses from that point and was down 1.3% at 1457 GMT. In New York, Wall Street shares opened lower and the Nasdaq index lost over 2%.
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SYDNEY, April 26 (Reuters) - The Australian and New Zealand currencies rose against the U.S. dollar on Monday, underpinned by higher iron ore prices and a weaker greenback amid speculation the U.S. Federal Reserve will shun talk of tapering bond purchases at its policy meeting.
The commodity-sensitive Australian dollar was up 0.34% at $0.7774, as iron ore soared more than 4%, fuelled by structural supply shortage and robust steel demand.
The Aussie faces resistance at $0.7816 and has support at $0.7730.[
“The huge jump in iron ore prices in the face of record Chinese demand and the ongoing constrained supply remains a super potent positive for the Australian dollar,” Westpac analysts said, noting the expectation of volatile trading within the wider $0.76 to $0.80 area.
By Reuters Staff
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PRAGUE, May 4 (Reuters) - The Czech crown led central European currency weakness on Tuesday as a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on the region, although stock gains for Hungarian oil and gas group MOL pushed Budapest up the most in over a month.
Budapest’s BUX index climbed 1.5% on a more than 3% rise in MOL’s shares after an update on refinery and petrochemical margins enticed investors.
In Prague, the PX index nudged higher and held above the 1,100 level to stick around highs last seen before the COVID-19 pandemic struck markets in February 2020.
Pacing the market is a rise in shares of utility CEZ as investors expect a generous dividend proposal after the sale of some foreign assets.