Wall Street follows European stocks higher
NY Fed President Williams sees no current case for ratecuts
U.S., Japan, Korea make currency statement
(Updates to 10:58 EDT)
U.S. stocks whipsawed on Thursday but were last following their European counterparts higher as investors contended with the push-pull of a strong economy and restrictive Federal Reserve policy.
Benchmark Treasury yields resumed their uphill climb and gold continued to gain strength as ongoing turmoil in the Middle East bolstered the safe-haven play.
All three major U.S. stock indexes oscillated early in the session but were last higher, with the blue-chip Dow leading the charge.
Weakness in the chip sector kept the Nasdaq's gains in check.
New York Fed President John Williams, citing economic strength，said on Thursday he does not see a convincing case for cutting the central bank's policy rate now.
On Tuesday Fed Chair Jerome Powell declined to provide guidance on when rates might be lowered.
Market volatility has lately been timed to remarks from Fed speakers, said Brian Nick, senior investment strategist at Macro Institute in New York. "There's this growing pessimism about whether rate cuts are going to ride to the rescue anytime soon and whether the Fed is making a mistake, keeping rates this high and policy this tight for this long."
"The longer rates stay this high, the more volatility you'll see in the market, and the higher the chances are of something else breaking whether it's consumer confidence, or business sentiment and it becomes sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy," Nick said.
Economic data released on Thursday painted a mixed picture, with low jobless claims and solid factory data versus weaker-than-expected home sales and leading economic index readings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 273.18 points, or 0.72%, to 38,026.49, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 25.84 points, or 0.51%, to 5,048.05 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 67.46 points, or 0.43%, to 15,750.84.
European stocks oscillated, but were last higher as industrials lifted the benchmark index, offsetting uncertainties surrounding geopolitical tensions and the timing of central bank rate cuts weighing keeping risk appetites in check.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX rose 0.18% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.50%.
Emerging market stocks rose 0.53%. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS closed 0.63% higher, while Japan's Nikkei .N225 rose 0.31%.
Treasury yields pushed higher as solid economic data reinforced warnings from Fed officials that restrictive monetary policy might be in place for longer than many had anticipated.
Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 12/32 in price to yield 4.6326%, from 4.585% late on Monday.
The 30-year bond US30YT=RR last fell 13/32 in price to yield 4.7261%, from 4.699% late on Monday.
The dollar was last essentially unchanged, paring losses following a rare warning by the finance chiefs of the United States, Japan and Korea over the sharp decline in other currencies, which in turn offered the yen some relief.
The yen hovered near 34-year lows, keeping intervention watchers on high alert.
The dollar index .DXY rose 0.05%, with the euro EUR= down 0.18% to $1.0652.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.15% versus the greenback at 154.63 per dollar. Sterling GBP= was last trading at $1.2442, down 0.03% on the day.
Oil prices dipped as investors juggled U.S. sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, and robust U.S. jobs data against the wider backdrop of demand concerns and simmering Middle East tensions.
U.S. crude CLcv1 fell 0.42% to $82.34 per barrel and Brent LCOcv1 was last at $86.90, down 0.45% on the day.
Gold climbed as the safe-haven metal continued to benefit from ongoing Middle East turmoil and the prospect of fewer than expected U.S. rate cuts this year.
Spot gold XAU= added 0.9% to $2,380.87 an ounce.
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