Worldwide stock indexes rose on Tuesday and European bond yields fell on expectations of more stimulus from the European Central Bank, while strong U.S. data on durable goods and consumer confidence underpinned U.S shares. The benchmark S&P 500 held above the 2,000 mark, after first breaching that milestone on Monday, and hit a record high. The Dow also hit an intraday record.
Speculation grew that the European Central Bank is preparing a program of large-scale asset purchases to weaken the euro and try to jump-start growth in the struggling euro zone. Those expectations have bolstered European bond and stock markets since Friday, when ECB President Mario Draghi hinted at a policy shift in a speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“Draghi’s readiness to do more is providing the necessary boost for equity indexes,” said Ashraf Laidi, chief global strategist at City Index. “Buying on the dips does remain the path of least resistance in the absence of any destabilizing factor.”
MSCI’s all-country world index was last up 0.22 percent, at 431.64. In Europe, the broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 0.75 percent, at 1,376.83. The 10-year German bund yield was last at 0.943 percent, up from a session low of 0.932 percent but down from 0.955 percent late on Monday.