US equities capped a four-day winning streak by closing higher on Wednesday despite weak employment figures, amid receding fears the Federal Reserve will pull out the big guns to fight inflation. Positive earnings reports, including from Google-parent Alphabet, boosted the tech sector. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 per cent to finish at 35,629.33. The broad-based S&P 500 popped up 0.9 per cent to 4,589.38, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.5 per cent to close at 14,417.55. Stocks had been battered for weeks after the Fed signalled its plans to raise interest rates, but recent comments from some of its most hawkish policymakers quelled concerns borrowing costs will jump sharply in March and beyond.
THE euro rose for a third consecutive day on Wednesday, coming off a 20-month low last week, as eurozone inflation rose to a new record last month, fuelling bets the European Central Bank, or ECB, might raise interest rates sooner than expected. At 5.1 per cent in January, price growth is more than twice the ECB's 2 per cent target.
Oil prices edged up on Wednesday after Opec+ stuck to planned moderate output increases despite pressure from top consumers to raise output more quickly. Brent crude ended settling up 31 cents to US$89.47 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 6 cents to US$88.26 a barrel. Global benchmark Brent has remained within striking distance of US$90 for several days now, buoyed by ongoing concerns about tight supply across major world producers and steadily increasing demand.
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