Item 1 of 4 The Euronext stock exchange is pictured at the La Defense business district in Paris, France, September 30, 2022. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo
NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) – Global stocks edged higher while U.S. Treasury yields dipped on Tuesday as markets weighed data showing a persistently tight labor market, and prospects of interest rate cuts after comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 4.9 basis points to 4.43%.
“Listening to some of his comments, it seems he’s laying the groundwork for cuts maybe in September, that’s where the market thinks they’re going to start,” said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Sierra Mutual Funds in Santa Monica, California.
“We saw a little bit of an increase in job openings, so that seems to suggest that the labor market is hanging in there. Bond yields were lower, I think partly because of what Powell was talking about, you know seeming more of a dovish tone.”
On Wall Street, all major indexes finished higher after a choppy session with gains in consumer discretionary, financials, communication services and consumer staples stocks, while healthcare and energy equities were the biggest drags.
Brent crude futures settled down 0.42% at $86.24 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude settled at $82.81 a barrel, down 0.68%.
Against the Japanese yen , the dollar weakened 0.01% at 161.44. It hit 161.745 on Tuesday, the strongest in nearly 38 years, driven mainly by a wide gap in U.S.-Japanese interest rates.
($1 = 161.5900 yen)
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Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New York; Editing by Chris Reese and Richard Chang
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
