Shares gain as oil slips | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Shares gain as oil slips | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Most share markets firmed and oil slid, while bond markets braced for rate rises in the United States and the UK this week. S&P 500 stock futures add 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures rose 0.4%. EUROSTOXX 50 futures gained 0.5% and FTSE futures 0.2%. Tokyo's Nikkei rose 0.9%, but MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was dragged down 1.6% by losses in China. Chinese blue chips shed 1.7% after a jump in coronavirus cases saw the southern city of Shenzen locked down and stoked speculation about more policy easing, according to Reuters. Bonds elsewhere remained under pressure having taken a beating last week as surging commodity prices looked set to boost inflation further, with yields on 10-year Treasuries rising four basis points to 2.04%. Notably, a key measure of U.S. inflation expectations climbed to 3% and near-record highs. That merely cemented expectations the Federal Reserve would lift rates by 25 basis points at its policy meeting this week and signal more to come through members' "dot plot" forecasts. "The dots will likely be mainly clustered around four or five hikes for 2022, up from three previously, given the stronger pace of inflation since the January FOMC meeting," chief U.S.