NEW YORK, Jan 11 ― Global stock indexes rose and US 10-year Treasury yields edged up yesterday as investors looked ahead to a US consumer price report for possible clues on when the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates.

Late in the day, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first US-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin. Bitcoin has gained sharply in recent months on the expectation ETFs for the asset would be approved.

Investors are gearing up for the December consumer price index report due today. It is expected to show that headline inflation rose 0.2 per cent in the month and by 3.2 per cent on an annual basis.

Investors are also anxious to see US company quarterly results, which begin with reports from some of the big US banks on Friday.

"There's still speculation about when the Fed may lower rates. I take them for their word ― higher for longer,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York, adding that would depend on how fast inflation is coming down.

"It will be interesting to see earnings and also outlooks in this changing environment,” he said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 170.57 points, or 0.45 per cent, to 37,695.73, the S&P 500 gained 26.95 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 4,783.45 and the Nasdaq Composite added 111.94 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 14,969.65.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.18 per cent and MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.37 per cent.

US and European markets surged at the end of 2023 as inflation cooled more quickly than expected and central banks struck a softer tone, encouraging investors to bet on big rate cuts this year.

In afternoon trading, the benchmark 10-year yield rose 1.9 bps to 4.034 per cent. A US 10-year note auction showed a high yield of 4.024 per cent, modestly higher than the market's forecast of around 4.19 per cent, suggesting investors demanded a slight premium.

By late afternoon, the dollar index was down 0.14 per cent at 102.36.

Soft economic data this week in Japan may make it less likely that the Bank of Japan will raise rates out of negative territory this month.

Oil prices fell after an unexpected jump in US crude stockpiles. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 87 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to settle at US$71.37 (RM331.41) a barrel. Brent crude oil futures fell 79 cents, or 1 per cent, to settle at US$76.80.

Spot gold dropped 0.3 per cent to US$2,024.29 an ounce. ― Reuters