Stabilisation signs emerge after inflation palpations

Stabilisation signs emerge after inflation palpations

LONDON- Jittery global financial markets saw signs of stabilisation on Thursday, with major equity bourses and bond yields holding their ground and the dollar wilting after the highest U.S. inflation reading in nearly 40 years. The 7% year-on-year U.S. consumer price inflation reading was the highest since 1982, but after weeks of Federal Reserve officials talking about faster interest rate hikes and stimulus withdrawal it had been widely expected. MSCI's 50-country index of world stocks barely budged, little changed from where it started the year, while Europe dipped fractionally after two days of solid gains and as the euro climbed to its highest in nearly two months. Asian markets had weakened slightly as well on softer-than-expected Chinese lending data and more falls in the property sector, but futures markets pointed to a steady restart for Wall Street which had closed higher on Wednesday. "As we see it, the inflation story is going to persist for good a while longer yet," said Manulife Asset Management's global macro strategist Eric Theoret. "We have had a tremendous acceleration in the Fed's tightening," he added. Theoret pointed out that when the U.S. central bank raised interest rates in 2015 it waited two years before