London — World stocks made little progress on Thursday as worry over global trade tension weighed on them, while the dollar consolidated recent bumper gains after the US Federal Reserve reaffirmed the outlook for more rate increases. The MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 47 countries, traded flat in percentage terms. Europe’s pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.1% as the euro held firm. As the Fed policy meeting threw up no surprises with rates left unchanged, the focus shifted back to simmering trade tensions between the US and China, as well as the ongoing first-quarter earnings season. In Europe, earnings disappointments from medical technology company Smith & Nephew and postal services provider Bpost soured the mood as the stocks fell 5.9% and 10.9% respectively, while German drug and crop chemicals maker Bayer flagged a stronger euro in its update. E-mini futures for the S&P 500 crept 0.3% higher, with overnight results from Kraft Heinz, Tesla and Spotify in f...
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