- Bumrah takes four as India bowl out Bangladesh for 149
- Sri Lanka 134-1 to take upper hand in first New Zealand Test
- Bayern's Kompany calls for game cap for players amid strike talks
- Christie's expands Hong Kong footprint in hope of art market 'pickup'
- Sultry screen legend Sophia Loren turns 90
- Cambodian opposition figure in court on incitement charge
- Bumrah takes three wickets to have Bangladesh in trouble at 112-8
- Kimchi threat as heatwave drives up South Korea cabbage prices
- UK economic data delivers fresh blow to new govt
- China to 'gradually resume' seafood imports from Japan after Fukushima ban
- India minister blames dam release for flooding
- O'Rourke strikes early for Kiwis as Sri Lanka trail by three
- Deep takes two as Bangladesh totter in reply to India's 376
- Israel pounds Lebanon's Hezbollah after device blasts
- Revolution or mirage? Controversy surrounds new Alzheimer's drugs
- Ashwin's 113 powers India to 376 in Bangladesh Test
- Biden opens home to 'Quad' leaders for farewell summit
- Sally Rooney returns with 30-something questions
- Wallabies sense 'massive' chance to upset All Blacks
- Taiwan questions two in probe into Hezbollah pagers
- Viral Korean Olympic shooter scores first acting role as assassin
- Farrell set for 'challenge' of downing Bordeaux in Top 14
- Springbok Etzebeth diverts attention from looming caps record
- Inter on a high ahead of Milan derby as Napoli face Juve test
- Bank of Japan leaves key interest rate unchanged
- Arnold quits after six years in charge of Australia
- Asian markets track Wall Street record to extend global rally
- Guirassy and Anton to return to Stuttgart with new side Dortmund
- Marseille bidding to continue 'almost perfect' Ligue 1 start
- Arnold quits as coach of Australia men's football team
- Harris and Oprah hold star-studded US election rally
- Allies to remember failed WWII parachute operation
- Perez leading new-look Villarreal charge against leaders Barca
- Man City face Arsenal in Premier League title showdown, Postecoglou under pressure
- Fake celebrity endorsements, snubs plague US presidential race
- Documentary brings Argentine 'death flights' to the big screen
- Strike shows challenge to Boeing 'reset' of labor relations
- World leaders to gather at UN as crises grow and conflicts rage
- How plastic pollution poses challenge for Canada marine conservation
- Scientists track plastic waste in pristine Canada marine park
- South Africa's Buhai grabs LPGA Queen City lead
- Japan inflation firms to 2.8% ahead of BoJ rate decision
- Russia's Kadyrov accuses Musk of 'remotely disabling' his Cybertruck
- Titan sub had to abort a dive days before fatal implosion: testimony
- Ohtani makes MLB history with first 50-homer, 50-steal season
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases, 49 homers
- Ohtani eyes MLB history after surpassing 50 stolen bases
- Barca downed by Monaco as Arsenal held in Champions League stalemate
- Head's 'good night at office' after century seals win over England
- Dubois seeks legitimacy with Joshua scalp
Stocks rise despite jump in oil, metals prices
US and European equity markets rallied Wednesday despite another jump in the price of oil and other commodities, taking solace from Federal Reserve comments suggesting a patient approach to hiking interest rates.
In the first of two congressional hearings, Fed Chair Jerome Powell adopted a moderate tone when it came to the need to balance the fight against inflation with the uncertain economic toll of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"The near-term effects on the US economy of the invasion of Ukraine, the ongoing war, the sanctions, and of events to come, remain highly uncertain," he said in his semi-annual testimony to Congress. "We will be monitoring the situation closely."
Powell's comments came a few hours after major oil exporters declined to increase output more quickly despite the Russian invasion.
The decision by Saudi Arabia, Russia and other top oil exporters lifted crude to multi-year highs, with futures for West Texas Intermediate for delivery in April jumping seven percent to $110.60.
Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB, noted that "the global economy is facing energy starvation right now," while adding that "demand destruction will set a limit to the upside eventually," given the tightening of the physical oil market owing to sanctions towards Russia.
Other commodities also continued to rally, with European natural gas benchmarks hitting all-time highs, along with aluminum prices, amid worries over metals production from Russia.
"Supply outages from Russia are now but a question of time," said a note from Commerzbank. "Depending how long they last, they could cause turmoil on the markets –- in which case metals prices would presumably rise significantly further."
Still, solid gains by European equity bourses were followed by an upbeat US session, which saw the S&P 500 pile on nearly two percent.
"I'm not sure broader market sentiment has improved in any way since yesterday given the intensification of the invasion of Ukraine and soaring oil prices -- but equity markets are seeing some reprieve," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst with Oanda.
In a hearing with House lawmakers, Powell said he favored a modest quarter-point increase in the benchmark borrowing rate rather than a more aggressive, half-point hike for the first step expected at the central bank's meeting later this month.
But, he said, "We will need to be nimble in responding to incoming data and the evolving outlook," and left open the possibility of bigger moves if inflation stays high.
Among individual companies, Ford jumped 8.4 percent as it announced it is creating separate businesses for its conventional and electric-auto operations, as it accelerates its build-out of emission-free vehicles.
- Key figures around 2140 GMT -
Brent North Sea crude: UP 7.6 percent at $112.93 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 7.0 percent at $110.60 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 1.8 percent at 33,891.35 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.9 percent at 4,386.54 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.6 percent at 13,752.02 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 1.4 percent at 7,429.56 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.7 percent at 14,000.11 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.6 percent at 6,498.02 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 1.5 percent at 3,820.59 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.7 percent at 26,393.03 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.8 percent at 22,343.92 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,484.19 (close))
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1126 from $1.1125 late Tuesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3405 from $1.3325
Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.95 pence from 83.49 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 115.51 yen from 114.92 yen
burs-jmb/cs
N.Fournier--BTB