Stocks bounce, yen slides tracking inflation fallout

LONDON - Stock markets rebounded on Friday after a rocky week dominated by uncertainty over whether the global economy will suffer recession this year as inflation remains stubbornly high.

Traders are weighing poorly received US economic data and earnings against an expected boost from China's reopening after three years of painful Covid lockdowns.

"Having seen such a strong start to the year, there was always the probability that we’d see a little bit of profit taking," said market analyst Michael Hewson at CMC Markets.

"However, that doesn’t mean that the ... optimism that has been the hallmark of this early year rebound is evaporating and that we might start to see a sharp move lower."

On currency markets, the yen slid one percent against the dollar, even as data showed Japanese inflation hit a four-decade high.

Analysts are not convinced that despite rising prices, the Bank of Japan will start to raise interest rates.

Oil prices meanwhile extended Thursday's gains as investors focused on the recovery in demand from China. Suggestions that the country's Covid infections may have peaked added to the optimism among commodity traders.

"The over-arching concerns of a global slowdown remain, even though ... investors are still pinning their hopes on a significant boost from the reopening in China," noted Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor. 

"This possible division of prospects between Asian and other economies is propping up Chinese markets in particular, albeit amid a rocky start to the year."