Global stock index rises slightly while euro falls, yields up
MSCI'S global equities index edged higher on Monday while investors waited for key U.S. inflation data and central bank policy meetings but the euro fell after French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap election.
U.S. Treasury yields rose as investors digested Friday's labor market data and looked toward consumer price data and a Federal Reserve policy announcement this week. Investors are also waiting on Bank of Japan policy news.
Adding further uncertainty to a busy week was fresh political uncertainty in the euro zone's second-biggest economy after far-right gains in European Parliament elections on Sunday prompted a bruised Macron to call a national election.
The euro fell to a one-month low against the dollar, while European stocks slipped.
«There's a little bit of uncertainty coming from a couple of areas. Look at the elections over the weekend in Europe. The uncertainty there is creating a fair amount of volatility,» said Chad Oviatt, director of investment management at Huntington National Bank.
Europe's STOXX 600 index earlier closed down 0.27% while France's blue-chip CAC 40 index .FCHI fell 1.4% to touch a more than three-month low.
But MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe turned from red to green as the day wore on and Wall Street regained some lost ground. The global index was last up 0.75 points, or 0.09%, at 794.99.
On Wall Street, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite managed to mark their second record closing highs in four days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 69.05 points, or
