Global stocks are stable and gold is at a six-month high as the dollar declines

LONDON/SYDNEY (Reuters) – Global stocks were little changed on Monday as investors awaited key inflation data in the United States and Europe later in the week, while gold hit a six-month high as the dollar fell.

The MSCI World Stock Index (.MIWD00000PUS) fell 0.04% after rising for four consecutive weeks and achieving gains of about 8.7% this month.

The European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) was last down 0.15%, while Germany’s DAX was down 0.19% and Britain’s FTSE 100 was down 0.3%. S&P 500 futures fell 0.15%.

Global stocks have risen in recent weeks as bond yields fall, with slowing inflation in advanced economies boosting investor expectations that central banks are done raising interest rates and may cut them soon.

“The (U.S. Federal Reserve) minutes came out (last week) and revealed what everyone already knew: that, for now at least, it has been completed or paused…and as a result, stocks and bonds are both rising,” Duncan said. McInnes, chief investment officer at investment firm Ruffer:

“We had to raise interest rates by about 500 basis points… Do we really think that will have no consequences? That seems to be what the market is saying.”

Investors were looking forward to the release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation and consumer inflation numbers in the euro zone on Thursday, which could give direction to the markets after a quiet period witnessed last week.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde is scheduled to address the European Parliament on Monday.

“It’s been a quiet day, maybe people are holding on a little bit,” said Julian Howard, multi-asset investment director at asset manager GAM.

Howard said he currently prefers to invest in cash-like funds with high yields rather than making big bets on stocks or bonds.

The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds, which affects borrowing costs around the world, fell by one basis point to 4.470%. It has fallen sharply since hitting a 16-year high above 5% in October. Returns move inversely with prices.

With lower interest rates in the US market, the dollar index fell by more than 3% in November. The gauge, which tracks the dollar against six peers, was trading 0.16% higher on Monday at 103.27.

Gold benefited from the dollar’s decline, hitting a six-month high of $2,017.82 an ounce on Monday. The spot gold price rose in the latest trading by 0.52% to $2,012.39. It also reinforced investors’ concerns about the conflict between Israel and Hamas for the precious metal.

Oil prices fell on Monday, with Brent crude falling by 1.08% to $79.70 per barrel, and US crude falling by 1.16% to $74.65 per barrel.

The oil market faces a tense few days ahead of the OPEC+ meeting on November 30, where member countries will try to agree on supply restrictions until 2024. It was originally scheduled for Sunday but was postponed as producers had difficulty reaching a unanimous position.

The yield on German 10-year bonds fell 6 basis points to 2.589%, well below the 12-year high of 3.024% hit in early October. The euro rose in recent trading by 0.13 percent to $1.0947.

German inflation data is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, before Eurozone data.

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