USA stocks were in slightly positive territory thanks to forecast-beating earnings at industrial heavyweight General Electric as traders continued to wrestle with interest rate expectations.
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The broad-based S&P 500 rose 4.43 (0.22 percent) to 2,028.29, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index was up 5.29 (0.11 percent) at 4,875.39.
The latest survey of over 60 economists showed eurozone inflation was expected to average 0.1 percent this year, rise to 1.1 percent in 2016 and further to 1.6 percent in 2017 – still below the European Central Bank’s near 2 percent target.
“Investors are starting to look past the issues that were hitting companies in the third quarter”, said Saira Malik, head of global equity portfolio management at TIAA-CREF Asset Management.
The Dow is down 607.10 points, or 3.4 percent.
Including results from 57 companies in the S&P 500, earnings are on track to slip 4.6 per cent in the third quarter, according to FactSet.
HCA Holdings shares sank 6.7 per cent to $70.96 in early trading after the for-profit hospital operator said its third-quarter profit was likely to miss estimates. France’s CAC 40 gained 0.6 percent. However, the Nasdaq composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) dipped 3 points, or 0.06 percent, to 4,868.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2%.
Separately, a decline in industrial production in September suggests the impact the stronger US dollar is having on manufacturing and the effects the slump in energy prices is having on mining output. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held at 2.02 percent.
Analysts see a much lower chance of the Fed lifting rates following a stream of mediocre USA economic reports, including data on Thursday showing consumer prices fell in September.
One of the FOMC member, the New York Fed President William Dudley, spoke in an event hosted by the Brookings Institution on Wednesday morning, and stated that if the economy performs in line with estimates, he would stand for a rate hike in this year. “This earnings season will be an important market”.
Many investors have been cutting their expectations for a rate increase at all this year amid uneven domestic data.
Twitter climbed 4.9 per cent as former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer disclosed he took a four per cent stake in the microblogging company.
In commodities, gold edged down 0.4% at $1,183.60 a troy ounce after logging five consecutive days of gains.
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Brent crude, used to price worldwide oils, gained 39 cents to $50.12.
