Market update: Benign Chinese inflation data boosts European miners

Source: Henderson Global Investors

US stock markets finished slightly higher overall yesterday, although it was a bumpy ride (S&P 500 +0.6%; Dow Jones +0.3%). Investors were tentative ahead of the start of the earnings season, which began after the market’s close when aluminium company Alcoa released its results. Adjusted earnings beat expectations, but the firm’s year-on-year revenues were down, marginally below analysts’ forecasts. In other news, speaking at a conference last night in Stone Mountain, Georgia, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said that the US banking sector has grown much stronger since the financial crisis.

Overnight, data from China showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation had declined to 2.1% in March, down from February’s figure of 3.2%. The benign reading bodes well for China continuing with its monetary stimulus measures, and has lifted European markets this morning (FTSE 100 +0.7%; FTSE Eurofirst 300 +0.6%). The mining sector is leading the advance, having suffered from a substantial sell-down from the beginning of the year: China is the biggest consumer of metals globally.