LONDON—World stocks began the new month on firmer ground, after a volatile January, as reassuring comments from Federal Reserve officials helped to calm rate-hike jitters. A pan-European equity index rallied 1 percent Japan’s blue-chip Nikkei rose by 0.3 percent, buoyed by Wall Street’s overnight gains and MSCI’s world stock index rose to its highest in over a week. U.S. stock futures were mixed following a robust close on Monday, led by a 3.5 percent rise for the Nasdaq. That meant the tech-heavy index ended January on a strong note after narrowly avoiding an all-time worst start to a year. The S&P 500 recorded its weakest January performance since 2009. Fed policymakers appeared to confirm on Monday that interest rates would rise in March, but spoke cautiously about what might follow. Australia’s central bank also weighed in on Tuesday. It ended its A$275 billion ($194.40 billion) bond-buying campaign as expected, but …
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