By Caroline Valetkevitch and Dhara Ranasinghe
NEW YORK/LONDON, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Major stock indexes were up slightly and Treasury yields rose on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected U.S. economic data, while the yen shot up after warnings from Tokyo on its readiness to support the battered currency.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index briefly hit a record high on gains in the healthcare sector, after heavyweight Novo Nordisk secured U.S. approval of its weight-loss pill.
Silver hit a record high above $70 an ounce, while gold also touched a record.
Data showed the U.S. economy grew faster than expected in the third quarter, driven by robust consumer spending. Early estimates showed gross domestic product increased at a 4.3% annualized rate last quarter, far above economists’ forecast for a rise at a 3.3% pace, according to a Reuters poll.
“We’re still in this period of playing catch-up with economic data and GDP is dated… But it’s showing strength in the economy, and strength that’s above expectations,” said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at Ingalls & Snyder in New York.
U.S. economic releases have been delayed by a record federal government shutdown.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 44.14 points, or 0.09%, to 48,406.82, the S&P 500 rose 5.95 points, or 0.09%, to 6,884.37 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 7.37 points, or 0.03%, to 23,435.22.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 2.31 points, or 0.23%, to 1,017.80.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index was last up 0.4%. Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei closed little changed on the day.
Novo Nordisk shares rallied on Tuesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its weight-loss pill, giving the Danish drugmaker a competitive edge in the fast-evolving obesity treatment market.
The approval positions Novo Nordisk ahead in the race for a potent oral weight-loss medication as it works to recover market share lost to Eli Lilly.
The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was last up 2.71 basis points (bps) at 4.198%. The U.S. dollar curbed its losses against the yen and euro after the U.S. economic growth data, which reinforced expectations the Federal Reserve will pause cutting rates at its January meeting.
The yen was firm as investors weighed the odds of an imminent intervention from Japanese authorities to shore up the currency.
Japan has a free hand in dealing with excessive moves in the yen, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said on Tuesday, issuing the strongest warning so far about Tokyo’s readiness to intervene in the market to arrest sharp declines in the currency.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.55% against the greenback to 156.21 per dollar. The euro was up 0.12% at $1.1775, while the dollar index was last down 0.19% at 98.05.
While the BOJ raised rates at its December policy meeting on Friday, the move was widely expected and Governor Kazuo Ueda offered few hints on the extent of future rate hikes.
The dollar slipped against other major currencies, with the euro up 0.3% at $1.1795 and sterling 0.4% higher at $1.3514.
Silver extended its record rally and hit the key $70 an ounce mark, while gold cut gains after setting an all-time high.
Spot silver rose 0.7% at $69.48 per ounce after touching a record high earlier. Spot gold was flat at $4,445.36.
U.S. crude fell 0.24% to $57.88 a barrel and Brent fell to $61.87 per barrel, down 0.32% on the day.
China’s blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.2%. China will step up urban renewal and deepen efforts to stabilize its property market in 2026 as it prepares to launch its latest Five-Year Plan, according to a readout of a housing policy work conference released on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch and Dhara Ranasinghe in London; additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Frances Kerry, Tomasz Janowski, Philippa Fletcher)
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