SNB Capital approved for market making activities on Saudi Aramco

SNB Capital approved for market making activities on Saudi Aramco

Global Markets — BOJ shock prompts breather for shares, US inflation data up next

LONDON: Global shares paused for breath on Friday as investors digested monetary policy steps from Japan and inflation data on both sides of the Atlantic in the hope of more evidence to persuade central banks to end their rate hiking cycle, according to Reuters.

The Bank of Japan made its yield curve control policy more flexible and loosened its defense of a long-term interest rate cap, seen by investors as prelude to a shift away from years of ultra-loose monetary policy.

The moves cap a big week for central banks, with interest rate rises in the US and Europe in recent days seen as the final moves in the most aggressive hiking cycle in a generation, with the Bank of England meeting next week.

The yen and benchmark Japanese bond yields jumped after the BOJ moves, while hopes for stimulus had Chinese stocks heading for their best week since last November.

Oil was on track for a fifth straight week of gains after news that the US economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter, but gold was braced for its biggest weekly decline in five weeks.

The MSCI All Country