European stocks open firm, U.S. stock futures up
Dollar pauses after strong gains, bitcoin above 30,000

LONDON, April 11 Reuters World stocks rallied on Tuesday, as traders held on to hope that interest rates will soon peak and come down later this year, even if latest U.S. jobs data supported the case for a May hike from the Federal Reserve.

Those hopes were fanned by an analysis in the International Monetary Fund39;s latest World Economic Outlook that suggested the current high interest rates are likely to be temporary and predicted that, once inflation was brought under control, rates in advanced economies would eventually return to prepandemic levels.

Trading was largely sluggish as many markets reopened after a long holiday weekend. European stock markets opened broadly firmer, U.S. stock futures pointed to a positive open for Wall Street shares , and Japan39;s bluechip Nikkei rallied over 1.

Supporting the case for global inflation easing further this year, data showed China39;s consumer inflation hit an 18month low and factorygate price declines sped up in March as demand remained weak.

South Korea39;s central bank held rates steady for a second consecutive meeting on Tuesday, while the Bank of Canada is expected to leave rates unchanged when it meets on Wednesday.

Friday39;s nonfarm payrolls suggested labour markets remain resilient, boosting expectations for a 25 basis point bps U.S. rate increase in May. Markets price in a roughly 70 chance of a May…