Shares hover near record highs, crude prices gain
NEW YORK :Global shares hovered near record highs on Wednesday as Middle East tensions eased, with markets focused on U.S. inflation and prospects of an interest rate cut. Crude prices rose after snapping three straight sessions of losses.
The benchmark S&P 500 index finished unchanged and near a record high reached on February 19. Gains in technology and communication services shares were offset by losses in real estate, consumer staples and utilities stocks. The Dow lost ground but the Nasdaq gained.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.25 per cent to 42,982.43, the S&P 500 was flat at 6,092.16 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.31 per cent to 19,973.55.
European shares dropped 0.74 per cent.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan finished up 0.96 per cent overnight. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe eased 0.02 per cent to 902.84, after hitting a record high earlier in the session.
A ceasefire between Israel and Iran appeared to be holding, reducing the risks of disruptions to the global oil trade. At a NATO summit on Wednesday, President Donald Trump hailed the swift end to the 12-day conflict, saying that talks next week would seek a commitment from Iran to end its nuclear ambitions.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell resumed two days of congressional testimony on Wednesday, appearing before the Senate Banking Committee following scrutiny before a House panel on Tuesday.
"It looks like we've got a bit of a tug of war as to everything from Middle East tensions to how that's going to impact inflation, and then you've got oil prices firming up a little bit," said Sandy Villere, portfolio manager at Villere & Co in New Orleans.
"It would be interesting if oil gets weaker and inflation stays at bay and then you wrap all that into what Powell has been saying. It feels like the market is being pretty resilient."
CRUDE FUTURES UP
Brent crude futures settled up 0.8 per cent to $67.68 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) settled up 0.9 per cent to $64.92, both contracts paring some of the 13 per cent losses made earlier in the week. Prices had rallied to five-month highs after the U.S. attacked Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend.
Powell told the Senate panel that the Trump administration's tariff plans may well just cause a one-time jump in prices, but the risk of more persistent inflation is large enough for the central bank to be careful in considering further rate cuts.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1 basis point to 4.283 per cent, reversing earlier gains.
The U.S. dollar dropped to its lowest since 2021 against the euro but gained against the safe-haven Japanese yen.
The dollar strengthened 0.19 per cent to 145.19 against the Japanese yen and was down 0.05 per cent to 0.80480 against the Swiss franc, erasing earlier gains. The euro rose 0.43 per cent at $1.1658, after hitting its highest since October 2021.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro, fell 0.27 per cent to 97.69.
Gold prices were mixed. Spot gold rose 0.31 per cent to $3,334.10 an ounce. U.S. gold futures settled 0.3 per cent lower at $3,343.1.
