Read more about After volatile January, world stocks start February on a firm note on Business Standard. A pan-European equity index opened more than 1% higher, U.S. stock futures rallied and Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei rose 0.3%, buoyed by Wall Street’s overnight gains
looked set to leave a volatile January in the past on Tuesday, starting a new month on firmer ground as a slew of reassuring comments from Federal Reserve officials helped calm rate-hike jitters. A pan-European equity index opened more than 1% higher, U.S. stock futures rallied and Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei rose 0.3%, buoyed by Wall Street’s overnight gains. [. T] [. N] Indeed, U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday, led by a 3.5% rise for the tech-heavy It meant the ended January on a strong note after narrowly avoiding its worst ever start to the year. The S&P 500 meanwhile recorded its weakest January performance since 2009. Fed policymakers appeared to confirm on Monday that interest rates would rise in March, but spoke cautiously about what might follow. In what sounded like a well-orchestrated chorus, four Fed officials said they felt it was time for the U.S. central bank to begin removing support from a strongly growing economy, where inflation is at its highest in four decades. The Treasury’s top economist said inflationary pressures should ease in 2022 due to weaker goods demand, easing supply bottlenecks and a receding coronavirus pandemic.
