Stocks rise after soft US inflation reading with Middle East in focus

NEW YORK/ MILAN, July 15 : MSCI's global equities index rose on Wednesday after a surprise drop in the U.S. inflation reading and a second day of strong earnings reports while oil futures turned lower even as U.S.-Iran hostilities showed no signs of abating. U.S. producer prices were softer than expected in June in another indication - along with consumer price data released on Tuesday - that inflation was retreating before the recent escalation in the Middle East conflict. The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday that the Producer Price Index for final demand dropped 0.3 per cent last month compared with economist forecasts that it would be unchanged.Meanwhile, the U.S. conducted a new wave of strikes against Iran's coastal defence systems and cruise missile sto