GLOBAL MARKETS-U.S. stock futures buoyant on inflation view

* S&P futures flat, Nasdaq futures dip 0.2%
* European stocks eye longest weekly winning streak since
Nov 2019
* Dovish Powell, weak jobs data quell inflation jitters
* Dollar index eyes worst week of year on lower bond yields
*

By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures were buoyant
before the open on Friday after the S&P 500 rose to a record on
Thursday on easing inflation fears, and world stocks also scored
a record high.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled at an
International Monetary Fund event that the central bank was
nowhere near reducing support for the U.S. economy, saying that
while economic reopening could result in higher prices
temporarily, it will not constitute inflation. The comments followed data on Thursday showing an unexpected
rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for
unemployment benefits.
E-mini futures on the S&P 500 ESc1 were flat, while
Nasdaq futures NQc1 dipped 0.2%.
"As long as monetary stimulus is easy, as long as fiscal
policy is easy, any hiccups in stocks are probably only going to
find buyers," said Giles Coghlan, chief currency analyst at
HYCM.
Investors have pumped more money into equities over the past
five months than in the last 12 years, BofA's weekly flow
figures showed on Friday. MSCI's broadest gauge of world stocks .MIWD00000PUS was
flat after hitting a record high in Asian trading. The index has
gained 1.6% this week.
Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE rose to its highest in more than
a year, bringing gains for the week to nearly 3%, helped by the
country's speedy vaccine rollout. .L
European stocks .STOXX were flat but remained on course
for their longest weekly winning streak since November 2019, as
hopes of a rapid recovery in economic growth offset doubts over
the euro zone's COVID-19 vaccination programme. Euro zone authorities should only withdraw their monetary
and fiscal stimulus gradually, European Central Bank Vice
President Luis de Guindos said on Friday. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR held close to
Thursday's two-week trough near 1.6%. Yields had surged to their
highest since January 2020 at 1.776% at the end of March on
inflation fears.
Deutsche Bank analysts said Powell's comments "offered fresh
reassurance to investors who'd begun to price in earlier rate
increases on the back of some very strong economic data in
recent weeks".
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan
speaks later on Friday. German 10-year bond yields DE10YT=RR rose 4 basis points,
moving away from the previous session's 10-day lows. Mixed
economic data from Germany showed a rise in exports in February
but a surprising decline in industrial output. The U.S. dollar index =USD gained 0.2% but was set for its
worst week of the year, weighed down by the lower Treasury
yields. The euro EUR= dipped 0.2% after hitting two-week highs
in the previous session.
The pound was also on track for its biggest weekly loss of
the year GBP=D3 EURGBP=D3 , hit by profit-taking after a
strong first quarter. The CBOE volatility index .VIX was steady after falling to
its lowest since Feb 2020 on Thursday at 16.55. Easing
volatility will support risk appetite, said analysts at
Unicredit.
"The level of uncertainty regarding COVID-19-related
developments and their impact on economic activity remains
elevated, but risks seem balanced," they wrote in a client note.
In emerging markets, Norway's finance ministry said the
country's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's
largest, should not include Saudi Arabian companies in the
reference index governing the fund's investment, because of
environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) risk.

In Asia, Japan's Topix .TOPX gained 0.6%, Australian
stocks .AXJO hovered near a 13-month high and South Korea's
Kospi .KS11 touched the highest intraday level since
mid-February.
Chinese shares .CSI300 , however, slid 1.5%, as robust
domestic inflation data raised worries over policy tightening.
Factory gate prices rose at their fastest annual pace since July
2018 in March. Oil prices edged lower as supplies from major producers grew
and concerns remained over a mixed picture on the COVID-19
pandemic's impact on fuel demand. U.S. crude CLc1 fell 0.1% to $59.57 a barrel. Brent
LCOc1 lost 0.2% to $63.09 a barrel.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.6% to $1,745 an ounce after jumping
to a more than one-month peak of $1,758 on Thursday.

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Global assets http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
Global currencies vs. dollar http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh
Emerging markets http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV
MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j
Dollar set for worst week of the year https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvEAdU
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