Global Stocks Shrug Off Rate Fears To Post Gains 23 February 2018

Global stock markets were heading towards the weekend on a mostly positive note Friday, as fearful speculation on US rate hikes took a back burner.

London, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Feb, 2018 ) :Global stock markets were heading towards the weekend on a mostly positive note Friday, as fearful speculation on US rate hikes took a back burner.

Europe's main stock markets were mildly higher at the close, except for London which was under pressure from a strong pound and some weak corporate results. Wall Street was firmer approaching midday in New York, after the Federal Reserve downplayed inflationary pressures in the US economy in a monetary policy report to Congress.

Gold slipped back, a good indicator of investors getting back some appetite for risk. The Dollar, which had risen against its key rivals earlier in the session amid expectations that US interest rates will rise faster than previously forecast this year, eased back a little following the Fed report against the Yen, but continued firm against the euro.

"The story defining the dollar's impressive appreciation this week continues to revolve around heightened speculations of higher US interest rates in 2018," said Lukman Otunuga, an analyst at FXTM.

Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland slumped in London despite the state-rescued bank posting its first profit since 2007, on the eve of the global financial crisis. "It seems that investors were put off by the lack of clarity surrounding RBS' settlement with the US Department of Justice" linked to the US subprime mortgage crisis a decade ago, said Connor Campbell, analyst at Spreadex trading group.

British Airways owners IAG also saw their shares nosedive.