Global stocks steady before inflation data, gold climbs as dollar slips
By Harry Robertson and Wayne Cole
LONDON/SYDNEY (Reuters) — Global equities were little changed on Monday as investors waited for key U.S. and European inflation data later in the week, while gold hit a six-month high as the dollar fell.
MSCI's index of world stocks was last down 0.06% after climbing for four straight weeks and notching a gain of around 8.7% this month.
Europe's STOXX 600 index was last 0.13% lower, while Germany's Dax stock index was down 0.12% and Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2%. Futures on the S&P 500 index were 0.18% lower.
Global stocks have surged in recent weeks as bond yields have dropped, with cooling inflation in developed economies boosting investors' expectations that central banks are finished raising interest rates and might soon be cutting them.
«The (U.S. Federal Reserve) minutes came out (last week) and revealed what everyone already knew: which is that, at least at the moment, they're done or are on pause… and as a result stocks and bonds are both rallying,» said Duncan MacInnes, investment director at investment company Ruffer.
«We've had about 500 basis points of interest rate rises forced through… do we really think that won't have any consequences? That seems to be what market is saying,» he added.
CONSUMER INFLATION
Investors were looking ahead to Thursday's release of the Fed's preferred measure of inflation and consumer inflation figures for the euro zone, which could give markets direction after last week's Thanksgiving lull.
The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which influences borrowing costs around the world, was last up 1 basis point at 4.494%. It has fallen sharply since hitting a 16-year high above 5% in October. Yields move inversely to prices.
With U.S. market
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