World stock markets rose on Friday, poised for its best week since early March, as moderate inflation eased worries over a faster pace of US interest rate hikes and boosted risk appetite.
The dollar fell for a third day against a basket of major currencies as traders booked recent gains tied to widening interest rate gaps in favour of the US and signs of slower growth elsewhere in the world.
Gold was set for its first weekly gain in four weeks after soft US inflation data on Thursday suggested the Federal Reserve would show caution as it boosts interest rates, reports Reuters.
Oil prices slipped but remained near 3-1/2 year highs as the prospect of new US sanctions against Iran tightened the outlook for Middle East supply at a time when global crude production is just keeping pace with rising demand.
US stocks gained as healthcare stocks led a rally.
MSCI’s gauge of stock markets across the globe gained 0.36 per cent.
European shares edged higher, with the pan-regional STOXX 600 index of companies in 17 countries, rising 0.11 per cent for a seventh straight week of gains.
Shares in Daily Mail and General Trust rose 1.3 per cent, having jumped as much as 9.4 per cent, after US private equity firm Silver Lake Management Co agreed to buy ZPG.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 25.36 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 24,764.89. The S&P 500 lost 0.84 points, or 0.03 per cent, to 2,722.23.
However, the Nasdaq Composite dropped 16.44 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 7,388.54.
US crude fell 37 cents to $70.99 per barrel and Brent was last at $77.30, down 17 cents on the day.
The dollar index fell 0.23 per cent, with the euro up 0.38 per cent to $1.1958. The Japanese yen firmed 0.16 per cent versus the greenback at 109.24 per dollar.