* S&P futures flat, Nasdaq futures dip 0.2%
* European stocks eye longest weekly winning streak since Nov 2019
* Dovish Powell, weak jobs data quell inflation jitters
* Dollar index eyes worst week of year on lower bond yields
*
By Carolyn Cohn
LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures were buoyant before the open on Friday after the S&P 500 rose to a record on Thursday on easing inflation fears, and world stocks also scored a record high.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signalled at an International Monetary Fund event that the central bank was nowhere near reducing support for the U.S. economy, saying that while economic reopening could result in higher prices temporarily, it will not constitute inflation. comments followed data on Thursday showing an unexpected rise in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits.
E-mini futures on the S&P 500 ESc1 were flat, while Nasdaq futures NQc1 dipped 0.2%.
"As long as monetary stimulus is easy, as long as fiscal policy is easy, any hiccups in stocks are probably only going to find buyers," said Giles Coghlan, chief currency analyst at HYCM.
Investors have pumped more money into equities over the past five months than in the last 12 years, BofA's weekly flow figures showed on Friday. broadest gauge of world stocks .MIWD00000PUS was flat after hitting a record high in Asian trading. The index has gained 1.6% this week.
Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE rose to its highest in more than a year, bringing gains for the week to nearly 3%, helped by the country's speedy vaccine rollout. .L
European stocks .STOXX were flat but remained on course for their longest weekly winning streak since November 2019, as hopes of a rapid recovery in economic growth offset doubts over the euro zone's COVID-19 vaccination programme. zone authorities should only withdraw their monetary and fiscal stimulus gradually, European Central Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Friday. 10-year Treasury yields US10YT=RR held close to Thursday's two-week trough near 1.6%. Yields had surged to their highest since January 2020 at 1.776% at the end of March on inflation fears.
Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) analysts said Powell's comments "offered fresh reassurance to investors who'd begun to price in earlier rate increases on the back of some very strong economic data in recent weeks".
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas President Robert Kaplan speaks later on Friday. 10-year bond yields DE10YT=RR rose 4 basis points, moving away from the previous session's 10-day lows. Mixed economic data from Germany showed a rise in exports in February but a surprising decline in industrial output. U.S. dollar index =USD gained 0.2% but was set for its worst week of the year, weighed down by the lower Treasury yields. The euro EUR= dipped 0.2% after hitting two-week highs in the previous session.
The pound was also on track for its biggest weekly loss of the year GBP=D3 EURGBP=D3 , hit by profit-taking after a strong first quarter. CBOE volatility index .VIX was steady after falling to its lowest since Feb 2020 on Thursday at 16.55. Easing volatility will support risk appetite, said analysts at Unicredit (MI:CRDI).
"The level of uncertainty regarding COVID-19-related developments and their impact on economic activity remains elevated, but risks seem balanced," they wrote in a client note.
In emerging markets, Norway's finance ministry said the country's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, should not include Saudi Arabian companies in the reference index governing the fund's investment, because of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) risk. Asia, Japan's Topix .TOPX gained 0.6%, Australian stocks .AXJO hovered near a 13-month high and South Korea's Kospi .KS11 touched the highest intraday level since mid-February.
Chinese shares .CSI300 , however, slid 1.5%, as robust domestic inflation data raised worries over policy tightening. Factory gate prices rose at their fastest annual pace since July 2018 in March. prices edged lower as supplies from major producers grew and concerns remained over a mixed picture on the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on fuel demand. crude CLc1 fell 0.1% to $59.57 a barrel. Brent LCOc1 lost 0.2% to $63.09 a barrel.
Spot gold XAU= fell 0.6% to $1,745 an ounce after jumping to a more than one-month peak of $1,758 on Thursday.
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http://tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl Global currencies vs. dollar
http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh Emerging markets
http://tmsnrt.rs/2ihRugV MSCI All Country World Index Market Cap
http://tmsnrt.rs/2EmTD6j Dollar set for worst week of the year
https://tmsnrt.rs/3mvEAdU
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