Key central bank meetings this week in U.S. Britain, Japan.
New York LONDON, Sept 21 Reuters : World stock markets edged back on Tuesday while the U.S. dollar held relatively steady a day after heavy selling in equities, as investors assessed the level of contagion stemming from the distress of debt-saddled developer China Evergrande.
MSCI's stocks gauge across the globe gained 0.35%, following Monday's biggest percentage drop in two months in sales. In afternoon trading, the main index rose solidly while Wall Street's European gauges gained in afternoon trade.
Relatively subdued were price moves in bonds and currencies. On Monday, safe-haven assets drew bids as investors became risk averse.
Investors were still focused on the situation at Evergrande, where persistent default fears eclipsed efforts by the able group's chairman to lift confidence as Beijing showed no sign it would intervene to stem any domino effects across the global economy.
There is still problems that the market is dealing with, said David Joy, chief market strategist of Ameriprise Financial in Boston. And stabilization is a good thing after the downdraft we had yesterday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Wall Street to 34,099. It was an increase of 128.56 points, or 0.38%, to 34,089. 03, the S&P 500 gained a total of 13.23 points at 4,370 or 0.30% to 3,280. 96 and the Nasdaq Composite added 66.90 points, or 0.45%, to 14,780. The Cboe Volatility Index retreated after hitting a four-month high one day earlier, last down 2.25 points to 23.46.
Canada's federal stock index gained when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's limited victory in the basic election raised hopes that his government would keep the stimulus taps open.
Federal Reserve meetings in the United States and elsewhere around the world were set to take center stage for markets, with a meeting of investors due to be ended on Wednesday as investors look for when it will ease its bond-buying program.
In currency trading, the dollar index fell 0.053% with the euro up 0.02% to $1.1727. The Japanese currency was able to improve as the yen strengthened against the greenback at 109.25 per dollar.
There is just a lot of wait and see as far as what will happen with Evergrande, and right now if you are trying to make a dollar bet you really want to wait until you get a better feel about what is going to happen with Evergrande and what the Chinese government is going to do, said Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA in New York.
Benchmark 10 year notes next fell 3 32 in price to yield 1.318% from 1.309% late on Monday.
Oil prices edged higher in a see-saw session, as concerns about the global consumption outlook counterbalanced the struggle by big OPEC producers to pump enough supply to meet growing demand.
Brent crude rose 0.2% to $70.45 per barrel and the United States dollar at $74.07 rose 0.3% on the day.