World Stocks Mixed after Wall Street Rebound Led by Big Tech

World shares were mostly higher on Friday after a broad rally led by tech and financial companies snapped a three-day losing streak on Wall Street.

Germany's DAX gained 0.3 per cent to 15,241.57 while the CAC 40 in Paris rose 0.4 per cent to 6,315.27. Britain's FTSE 100 picked up 0.6 per cent to 7,005.56. The future for the S&P 500 gained 0.5 per cent while that for the Dow industrials added 0.3 per cent.

Markets rallied late in the week as prices of key commodities such as copper, zinc and aluminium slipped, alleviating concerns over inflation that had triggered sell-offs.

Shares in big semiconductor manufacturers were among the biggest gainers.

Japan's Nikkei 225 added 2.3 per cent to 28,084.47 and the Kospi in Seoul picked up 1 per cent to 3,153.32, lifted by gains for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, which gained 2.3 per cent and 1.3 per cent after announcing plans to expand their investments in chip production and development.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng advanced 1.1 per cent to 28,027.57. The Shanghai Composite index gained 1.8 per cent to 3,490.38, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was 0.5 per cent higher at 7,014.20.

Shares fell 2.5 per cent in Singapore, which has discovered fresh outbreaks of coronavirus, potentially jeopardizing plans to establish a travel “bubble" with Hong Kong.

Bitcoin added 3.6 per cent to $50,105.00. Its price plunged 10 per cent earlier this week after Tesla CEO Elon Musk reversed his earlier position on the digital currency and said the electric car maker would no longer accept it as payment.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 notched a 1.2 per cent gain, closing at 4,112.50 after clawing back almost half of its loss from a day earlier, when it had its biggest one-day drop since February.

Technology stocks led the gainers after sinking earlier in the week as investors fretted about signs of rising inflation.  Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google's parent company all rose. Financial companies also did well. JPMorgan Chase, Charles Schwab and Capital One Financial each rose more than 2 per cent.

In a reversal from Wednesday, the energy sector was the only loser in the S&P 500 as oil prices fell sharply as the reopening of the Colonial Oil pipeline after a cyberattack eased concerns about supplies.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.3 per cent to 34,021.45. The Nasdaq climbed 0.7 per cent to 13,124.99. The Russell 2000 index picked up 1.7 per cent to 2,170.95.

Investors have been questioning whether rising inflation will be something transitory, as the Federal Reserve has said, or something more durable that the Fed will have to address. The central bank has kept interest rates low to aid the recovery, but concerns are growing that it will have to shift its position if inflation starts running too hot.

Bond yields have risen sharply this week but pulled back slightly on Thursday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note was 1.65 per cent on Friday, compared with 1.70 per cent on Wednesday.

The price of US crude oil lost 21 cents to $63.61 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell 3.4 per cent on Thursday after the Colonial gasoline pipeline on the East Coast was reopened late Wednesday.

Brent crude, the international standard for pricing, lost 12 cents to $66.93 per barrel.

The US dollar fell to 109.26 Japanese yen from 109.46 yen late Thursday. The euro climbed to $1.2124 from $1.2081.