A global stock index rose on Wednesday after recent declines and investors watched for new developments in the U.S.-Iran conflict, while the Japanese yen gained sharply against the U.S. dollar.
It was not immediately clear what prompted the yen move. The currency had retraced over the last month approximately half of its increases made after a rare joint intervention by the U.S. and Japan at the end of July. The yen JPY= was last up 0.92% at 158.72 per dollar on Wednesday.
Wall Street stocks were solidly higher on the day after the escalation in the Middle East and the global bond selloff had given September a shaky start.
"We're seeing a little bit of a relief rally in stocks after the underperformance that came," with higher yields, said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New Jersey.
Investors may be looking for bargains after the recent selling, he said. "The (U.S.) economy itself remains strong, so one of the difficulties in investing in stocks is that a strong economy often leads to higher rates, and you have that tension between good earnings and the potential for the competition that bonds can offer."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 289.55 points, or 0.55%, to 53,059.62, the S&P 500 .SPX rose 45.54 points, or 0.60%, to 7,677.30 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC rose 130.03 points, or 0.50%, to 26,230.25.
MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS rose 1.14 points, or 0.10%, to 1,143.91 after ending lower for the previous three sessions. The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX index fell 0.21%.
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