Spectre Of Inflation Rears Its Head Over Stock Markets By Juliette RABAT and Ali BEKHTAOUI
02/23/21 AT 10:33 PM
Rising inflation has spooked stocks and pushed up the cost of government borrowing, leading some analysts to wonder whether the long bull run on financial markets might finally be coming to an end.
An economic monster in the second half of the 20th century, inflation has not been a major issue for several decades.
But headline inflation in the 19-nation eurozone hit 0.9 percent in January a month after prices had fallen 0.3 percent mostly owing to a spike in energy costs.
And in a little over a week, the yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasury notes has climbed to 1.39 percent, the highest in a year.
(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
MANHATTAN (CN) For investors, 2020 ended not with a bang but with a whimper, as markets posted meager gains to close out the last few equity trades of the year.
Thursday’s minor gains only added to the year’s overall success, as all three indices are far higher than when they started the year despite the economic ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic.
By the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 183 points after flatlining most of the day. Overall, the Dow which shed about 5,000 points in March, when lockdowns were first announced has gained more than 2,500 points since January.