(Updates market activity)
* Graphic: Global asset performance http://tmsnrt.rs/2yaDPgn
* Graphic: World FX rates http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
By Koh Gui Qing
NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. shares rebounded on
Thursday after falling for three consecutive days and benchmark
Treasury yields dipped, as investors snapped up technology
stocks and shrugged off worries about rising prices, for now.
After posting their biggest slump in at least 11 weeks on
Wednesday, U.S. shares bounced back as cash-flush investors
looked past concerns that accelerating inflation may prompt
quicker interest rate hikes, and deployed their funds once more.
So intent were investors on leaving inflation worries aside
that financial markets barely responded to Thursday's data,
which showed U.S. producer prices posting their biggest annual
gain since 2010 in April. "It's rebound Thursday," said John Augustine, chief
investment officer at Huntington Private Bank, which manages $20
billion. "Given the money on the sidelines, investors are going
to be coming back in."
Still, Augustine said investors should re-deploy their funds
in a measured way because "inflation concerns are not going
away".
By midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI had added
1.4%, while the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC
narrowed earlier gains to be up 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS , which includes
50 countries, also bounced slightly, gaining 0.2%.
U.S. stocks had tumbled earlier this week after data showed
U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly jumped by the most in almost
12 years in April.
Some investors now worry that quickening price pressures
could lead the Federal Reserve to tighten monetary policy sooner
than expected, and reduce its supply of cheap money that has
been propelling financial markets higher.
For now, however, inflation woes took a backseat.
Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR , which had
spiked 7 basis points overnight in the biggest daily rise in two
months, edged down by more than 3 basis points to 1.6625% as
investors took a breather.
Benchmark two-year Treasury yields US2YT=RR also pulled
back to 0.1589%.
Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar =USD was
steady at 90.727, holding gains eked out on Wednesday when
expectations of rate hikes burnished the currency's appeal.
A firm dollar capped gains in the euro EUR=EBS , which
edged up 0.1% to $1.20875. USD/
The pull-back in Treasury yields helped gold to recoup some
of Wednesday's losses, when the jump in bond yields dampened the
allure of non-yielding bullion. Spot gold XAU= climbed 0.7%
off a one-week low to $1,825.61 per ounce.
A recent rally in oil prices also paused on Thursday as
investors turned their attention to the coronavirus crisis in
India, and as a key U.S. fuel pipeline resumed operations.
Brent crude LCOc1 slumped 3.5% to $66.93 a barrel, while
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 lost 3.8% to $63.53 a
barrel.
Among cryptocurrencies, bitcoin BTC=BTSP , which tumbled
13% overnight when Elon Musk said Tesla TSLA.O would stop
accepting it as payment because of its high energy use, fell
below $50,000 again on Thursday following reports that the U.S.
Justice Department is investigating crypto exchange Binance.
By midday, bitcoin had dropped 2.2% to $48.314.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Asia stock markets https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
Asia-Pacific valuations https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dr2BQA
U.S. core inflation https://tmsnrt.rs/2RNcYWC
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>