Global stocks rebound but remain on track for weekly loss

NEW YORK: Stock markets worldwide bounced back on Friday after a multi-day sell-off but remained on track for their biggest weekly losses in months, while U.S. Treasury yields inched higher and the dollar held its gains.

Wall Street rose as investors returned to technology and other growth sectors, but gains were limited by ongoing worries about U.S.-China trade tensions and rising interest rates.

“Generally what we were seeing is more momentum and technology names selling off. Now buyers are coming back to say some of these are babies that were thrown out with the bath water,” said Laura Kane, head of Americas thematic investing at UBS Global Wealth Management.

All three U.S. stocks indexes, however, were on track for their biggest weekly declines since late March.

The biggest market shakeout since February has been blamed on factors including fears about the impact of the U.S.-China tariff fight, a spike in U.S. bond yields this week and caution ahead of earnings season.

Kicking off the U.S. earnings reporting period, three of the largest U.S. banks reported double-digit profit growth on Friday. The results reflected an array of positive business factors including a lift from cost-cutting programs they implemented after the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 173.34 points, or 0.69 percent, to 25,226.17, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 26.36 points, or 0.97 percent, to 2,754.73 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 129.74 points, or 1.77 percent, to 7,458.81.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 lost 0.25 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.85 percent.

Trade figures from China on Friday showed China’s trade surplus with the United States hit a record high in September, providing a likely source of contention with Trump over trade policies and the currency.

The data showed solid expansion in China’s overall imports and exports, suggesting little damage to the country from the tit-for-tat tariffs with the U.S.

The dollar index rose 0.22 percent, with the euro EUR= down 0.26 percent to $1.1563.

U.S. Treasury yields edged up, recovering from falls in the previous session, after data showed U.S. import prices grew at a faster pace than expected last month, adding to the narrative that inflation is accelerating.

Benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 4/32 in price to yield 3.1443 percent, from 3.131 percent late on Thursday.

Gold XAU= was down 0.5 percent at $1,217.81 an ounce. On Thursday, bullion jumped about 2.5 percent on safe-haven buying during an equities selloff.

Oil rebounded as the equities rally lent support, though prices pared gains after a closely watched forecaster deemed supply adequate and the outlook for demand weakening.

U.S. crude CLcv1 rose 0.5 percent to settle at $71.34 a barrel, while Brent LCOcv1 gained 0.2 percent to $80.43.