In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.1% higher by Thursday’s close, with healthcare and financial services stocks leading gains while food and beverages incurred the heaviest losses, slipping 0.8% lower. WH Smith shares jumped 5.8% after the British retailer announced that it would buy Marshall Retail for $400 million in a bid to expand its presence in U.S. airports.

In Currency Markets the U.S. dollar fell against the euro on Thursday as the common currency got a lift from the European Union and Britain striking a long-awaited Brexit deal. Britain clinched an eleventh-hour deal on its exit from the EU on Thursday, more than three years after Britons voted in a referendum to leave the bloc, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson still faces a knife-edge vote in parliament to get it approved. Sterling was 0.18% lower at $1.2807.

In Commodities Markets oil prices fell on Thursday as industry data showed a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. inventories but losses were limited after Britain and the European Union announced they had reached a deal on Brexit. Global benchmark Brent crude was down 37 cents at $59.05 a barrel. U.S. crude was also down 37 cents, at $52.99. U.S. crude inventories soared by 10.5 million barrels to 432.5 million barrels in the week to Oct. 11

In US Equity Markets stocks rose on Thursday, supported by Netflix and Morgan Stanley following upbeat reports, with investors also cheering Britain’s preliminary last-minute deal with the European Union. The S&P 500 was up 0.56%, at 3,006.42 and the Nasdaq Composite .rose 0.67%, at 8,178.40. Limiting gains on the blue-chip index was a 5.4% fall in shares of International Business Machines Corp after the company missed quarterly revenue estimates.

In Bond Markets a euro zone bond sell-off cooled on Thursday after optimism around a Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union came to a halt and eyes turned to a British parliament vote to approve the deal over the weekend. Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, which rose as much as 7 basis points to -0.33% on optimism around the deal earlier on Thursday, was down 1 bp on the day at -0.40%.