NEW YORK/LONDON, Apr 26 (Reuters): Global stocks were higher on Friday as Big Tech gains lifted Wall Street shares, while Japan's yen hit a fresh 34-year low after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) opted to keep monetary policy loose at its latest meeting.
MSCI's broad index of global stocks reversed earlier losses, rose 0.94 per cent by 10:43 a.m. ET (1443 GMT) after US shares opened to tech sector optimism following robust results from Alphabet and Microsoft.
US data also boosted sentiment, with the consumption expenditures(PCE) price index up 0.3 per cent in March, in line with estimates by economists polled by Reuters. In the 12 months through March, PCE inflation advanced 2.7 per cent against expectations of 2.6 per cent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 137.46 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 38,223.26, the S&P 500 gained 53.21 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 5,101.63 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 310.27 points, or 1.99 per cent, to 15,922.03.
Japan's yen was volatile, hitting a fresh 34-year low after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept monetary policy loose at its latest policy meeting, spiking briefly as traders speculated that Japanese authorities may intervene, then sliding again.
The STOXX 600 index rose 1.2 per cent, and the FTSE 100 index climbed to a fresh record high.
World equities were still poised to finish the month lower, as hopes of rapid Federal Reserve rate cuts drained from the market following a series of US inflation readings.
In a volatile session, the Japanese currency weakened as low as 157 against the dollar, a fresh 34-year low.
The Bank of Japan kept interest rates around zero at its policy meeting that concluded Friday, despite forecasting inflation of around 2 per cent for three years.
Markets are on high alert for Tokyo authorities to prop up the currency, in what would be an unconventional and politically tough decision. BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Friday that exchange-rate volatility could significantly impact the economy.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters on Thursday that currency intervention was acceptable only in "rare" circumstances and that market forces should determine exchange rates.
Yellen also said US economic growth was likely stronger than suggested by weaker-than-expected data on first-quarter output.
"The stall-out of inflation's return to 2 per cent in the first quarter is still a disappointment," Bill Adams, Chief Economist for Comerica Bank in Dallas, said in a market note.
"When the Fed meets next week, they are almost certain to say that the first quarter's economic data don't hit their high bar to begin cutting interest rates."
The yen was trading about 40 per cent below its fair value, Pictet Asset Management chief strategist Luca Paolini said.
"We underestimate the potential for something to go very wrong when you have a currency that is totally misaligned with (economic) fundamentals," he said.
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