GLOBAL stocks mostly fell yesterday to conclude a lacklustre week as markets grappled with fresh inflation data that raised worries of further central bank tightening.

After a down day on European and Asian equity bourses, US stocks also opened lower in the wake of hawkish comments from some Federal Reserve officials.

US equities moderated later in the day as the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note edged lower, cutting losses on the Nasdaq and lifting the Dow to a modest gain. Analysts pointed to limited volume in US trading ahead of a holiday on Monday in observance of President’s Day.

“It isn’t just Fed expectations that are rising, traders are also expecting the (European Central Bank) to send rates much higher,” said Oanda’s Edward Moya.

“It looks like global growth will definitely take a harder hit as monetary policy gets even more restrictive over the next few months,” he added.

The broad-based S&P 500 ended down 0.3%, pushing the index into a modest loss for the week.

Stocks have been volatile this week as investors weigh hopes of a “soft landing” from a period of elevated inflation against worries that central bank actions could prompt a serious recession.

St Louis Fed boss James Bullard and his Cleveland counterpart Loretta Mester on Thursday became the latest monetary policymakers to warn further hikes were in the pipeline.

“My overall judgement is it will be a long battle against inflation, and we’ll probably have to continue to show inflation-fighting resolve as we go through 2023,” warned Bullard.

He also said he would not rule out doubling the next rate increase to 50 basis points next month, a view shared by Mester.

The prospect of more aggressive Fed rate hikes also weighed on crude oil prices, along with worries about demand.

Separately, European TTF natural gas prices sank under €50 (RM237) for the first time in nearly a year and a half, as the mild winter curbed heating demand.

Among individual firms, Deere & Company jumped 7.5% after reporting higher profits and offering an upbeat assessment of its market, with “low machine inventories” boosting demand for agriculture equipment.

British bank NatWest posted a jump in annual profits to £3.34 (RM17.6) billion as it trimmed costs and the sector benefitted from rising interest rates.

But its shares tanked as much as 9.5%, which analysts blamed on profit-taking after the bank’s stock value climbed strongly in the final quarter of 2022.

Key figures around 2130 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.4% at 33,826.69 (close)

New York - S&P 500: DOWN 0.3% at 4,079.09 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.6% at 11,787.27 (close)

London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1% at 8,004.36 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.3% at 15,482.00 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3% at 7,347.72 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.5% at 4,274.92 (close)

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.7% at 27,513.13 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 1.3% at 20,719.81 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.8% at 3,224.02 (close)

Dollar/yen: UP at 134.17 yen from 133.94 yen on Thursday

Euro/dollar: UP at US$1.0697 from US$1.0674

Pound/dollar: UP at US$1.2045 from US$1.1993

Euro/pound: DOWN at 88.79 pence from 89.00 pence

Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.5% at US$83.00 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.7% at US$76.34 per barrel – AFP, February 18, 2023.