World stocks off slightly as dollar rises against yen

London: World equities ticked down yesterday though they were headed for their fourth consecutive quarterly rise, while the dollar hit a three-month high against the yen and the Australian dollar fell.

Copper prices retreated on concern about a supply surplus in China, the world's top consumer of industrial metals, and safe-haven government bonds were flat in the last trading day of the quarter.

World stocks measured in MSCI All-Country World Index drifted 0.1 per cent lower, though the benchmark is set to post its best monthly rise since July last year and on track to register a fourth straight quarterly gain. The 2.6 per cent gain for world stocks in the first quarter of 2010 outpaces a 1.9 per cent rise in emerging market shares for the same period.

In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 index were up 0.2 per cent. The benchmark is up 3.4 per cent this quarter, on track for the fourth consecutive quarterly rise.

"Markets were rocky at the peak of the Greek crisis, but now volumes have fallen again, the news flow has dried up, there is no catalyst," said Jacques Henry, analyst at Louis Capital Markets in Paris.

"Unless we get some sort of surprise on the macro data front, like with the payrolls this week, the market might move sideways for a bit."