World stock indexes mostly rose yesterday following mostly upbeat US corporate earnings, while US bond prices and gold fell as markets indicated improving risk sentiment.

The dollar recovered from recent weakness against the euro and the safe-haven yen, while sterling was off six-month highs, which it hit following Tuesday’s calling of a snap UK election.

Stock investors have turned their focus to quarterly results from US companies, which so far have been mostly better than expected. Morgan Stanley was up 2.7 per cent following its results.

The S&P 500 gained 6.32 points, or 0.27 per cent, to 2,348.51 and the Nasdaq Composite added 36.37 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 5,885.84. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 24.48 points, or 0.12 percent, to 20,498.8.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index, which hit a three-week low on Tuesday, rose 0.3 per cent, while Britain’s FTSE 100 index fell 0.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, gold was down one per cent, with spot gold falling as low as $1,275.73 per ounce. Oil edged lower, reversing earlier gains. Brent crude futures were down 36 cents at $54.53 a barrel, while US crude futures were down 34 cents at $52.07.

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