* European stocks up 0.1%
* U.S. earnings on the radar
* Bond yields retreat to three-week lows
* Bitcoin hits record high, dollar weakens
By Tom Arnold and Kevin Buckland
LONDON/TOKYO, April 14 (Reuters) - Global stock markets
pushed to record highs on Wednesday as bond yields eased, after
data showed U.S. inflation was not rising too fast as the
economy re-opens.
With fears receding for now that a strong inflation reading
might endanger the Federal Reserve's accommodative stance,
European shares .STOXX opened 0.1% higher.
Gains were capped after Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N said it
would delay rolling out its COVID-19 vaccine to Europe, after
U.S. health agencies recommended pausing its use in the country
after six women developed rare blood clots. Led by Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI , most Asia-Pacific share
indexes also climbed.
Benchmark U.S. Treasury yields continued their decline,
marking a fresh three-week low.
S&P 500 futures ESc1 pointed to a further 0.1% rise after
the S&P 500 .SPX closed at record highs on Tuesday.
Japan bucked the trend, with the Nikkei .N225 falling 0.4%
as a rising number of coronavirus cases raised doubts about its
economic recovery with 100 days to go until Tokyo is scheduled
to host the Olympics.
MSCI's gauge of equity performance in 50 countries
.MIWD00000PUS advanced 0.2% to a record high.
The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.6% in March, the
biggest increase since August 2012, as rising vaccinations and
fiscal stimulus unleashed pent-up demand, data showed on
Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI would
rise 0.5%.
In the 12 months through March, the CPI surged 2.6%. That
was the largest gain since August 2018 and followed a 1.7%
increase in February. But the data are unlikely to change Federal Reserve Chair
Jerome Powell's view that higher inflation in the coming months
will be transitory. Powell is scheduled to speak later in the
day at the Economic Club of Washington.
The "not too high" inflation reading and a relatively
successful 30-year U.S. bond auction on Tuesday were the
immediate reasons equity markets gained, said François Savary,
chief investment officer at Swiss wealth manager Prime Partners.
"People are now waiting for earning season, which should
give us more visibility on the outlook and whether the
significant market performance we've seen is logical and
sustainable," he said.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM.N and Goldman Sachs Group Inc
GS.N are among U.S. companies reporting on Wednesday.
Deutsche Bank's equity strategists expects S&P 500 earnings
to come in 7.5% above consensus, well above the historical
average of 4% but lower than in the previous three quarters.
WEAKER DOLLAR
For bond markets, the question is whether the benchmark
yield can break below 1.6% from as low as 1.611% on Wednesday,
Westpac strategists wrote in a client note. "That has been an
important technical level, which if broken could see a quick
move to 1.5%," they said.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield US10YT=RR had surged to a
14-month high of 1.776% on March 30 on bets that massive fiscal
stimulus would speed up a U.S. recovery, stoking faster
inflation than Fed policymakers anticipated and prompting it to
raise interest rates sooner than expected.
But yields have eased this month, in part owing to the Fed's
insistence that labour market slack will prevent the economy
from overheating.
A spate of strong auction results, including Tuesday's, has
also helped to tame yields. US/
Euro zone bond yields, which had been rising in line with
U.S. Treasury yields on hopes for a strong economic recovery
later this year and increased inflation, on Wednesday dropped 1
to 3 basis points. L8N2M71FO
The U.S. dollar =USD eased along with Treasury yields,
slipping to a three-week low against major peers. FRX/
Gold XAU= , a traditional inflation hedge, was flat at
$1,743.01 per ounce.
Bitcoin BTC=BTSP hit a record above $64,500, extending its
2021 rally on the day Coinbase shares are due to list in the
United States. In oil markets, Brent crude futures LCOc1 rose 1.2% to
$64.43 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 added 1.3% to $60.95.
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