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Major U.S. stock indexes down slightly in afternoon trading
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Data: U.S. consumer prices rise more than expected in Dec
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Dollar up slightly
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Crypto market investors cheer first US bitcoin ETF approvals
NEW YORK/LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Global stock indexes were flat to slightly lower and the dollar gained on Thursday as investors digested data showing that U.S. consumer price inflation came in above economists' expectations in December.
Investors also were focused on crypto markets after U.S. regulators late on Wednesday approved the first U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds to track bitcoin, a big step for the cryptocurrency world. Several ETFs tied to the spot price of bitcoin began trading in the U.S. on Thursday.
The consumer price index data raised some doubts that the Federal Reserve will cut rates as soon as some traders expect.
The day's data showed headline CPI rose 0.3% last month, for an annual gain of 3.4%. That was expected to be 0.2% and 3.2%, respectively.
The odds of a March rate reduction from the Fed fell to 65% from 67% on Wednesday, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
"This is not pernicious, it's not a bad number... This is not a signal of a resurgence of inflation. All it's saying is that inflation has come down," said Thierry Wizman, global FX and interest rate strategists in Macquarie, New York. "So, bottom line, this is not dangerous, the Fed will still be easing," Wizman said, adding that a rate cut will not happen in March, as many expected, but will start later in the year.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 10.51 points, or 0.03%, to 37,685.22, the S&P 500 lost 6.16 points, or 0.13%, to 4,777.29 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 9.84 points, or 0.07%, to 14,959.81.
The benchmark S&P 500 rose early in the session and briefly surpassed its record closing high from January 2022. By one measure, a record high close would confirm the index has been in a bull market since it bottomed on Oct 12. 2022.
Also, Microsoft overtook Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone maker began 2024 with its worst start in years due to concerns over falling demand.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.77% and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.04%.
The dollar index rose 0.049%, with the euro down 0.05% to $1.0965. The dollar index had traded at around 102.20 before the data was released.
The greenback gained 0.2% to 145.47 yen, after earlier reaching 146.10, the highest since Dec. 11.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was last down at 3.99%.
BITCOIN BOOST
Crypto stocks like Coinbase were down on Thursday, while bitcoin last rose 2.7% to $47,208.
Though long expected, the green light by the SEC marks a watershed moment for the world's best known cryptocurrency.
Standard Chartered's head of digital assets research Geoff Kendrick has estimated the approval, along with bitcoin's 'halving' in April, which cuts the currency's supply and historically kick-starts price rises, could send it to $100,000 by the end of the year.
"If ETF-related inflows materialize as we expect, we think an end-2025 level closer to $200,000 is possible," he said, assuming that between $50 billion and $100 billion would flood into the new U.S. ETFs by the end of the year.
Investor focus will soon turn to U.S. earnings season, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all due to report earnings on Friday. Brent futures rose 61 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $77.41 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 65 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $72.02.
