NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro rose and world stock markets edged higher on Wednesday amid tame U.S. inflation data and as the European Central Bank left its ultra-easy policy stance unchanged but warned that economic risks remained to the downside.
ECB President Mario Draghi confirmed policymakers were considering whether measures are needed to mitigate the impact on European banks of the central bank’s negative deposit rates.
European bank stocks declined and the yield on Germany’s benchmark 10-year bond fell to a one-week low of negative 0.039%, about 0.05 percentage point from 2-1/2 year lows they hit last month.
Major European stock indexes rose, though sentiment was capped by U.S. threats earlier this week to slap tariffs on goods from the European Union.
Separately, data showed U.S. consumer prices increased by the most in 14 months in March but underlying inflation remained benign against a backdrop of slowing global economic growth.
Minutes from a March 19-20 meeting of Federal Reserve policymakers show they saw the U.S. economy weathering a global slowdown without a recession in the new few years.
Policymakers debated how to manage the Fed’s massive holding of bonds and agreed to be patient about any changes to its interest rate policy.
MSCI’s all-country equity index gained 0.26%, while the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading shares closed up 0.17%.
Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc shares fell 6.5% to weigh on Britain’s blue chip FTSE 100 index after the U.S. Justice Department accused Indivior Plc, a former RB unit, of illegally boosting prescriptions for its blockbuster opioid addiction treatment. Indivior shares tumbled 71.6%.
On Wall Street, the
