In European Equity Markets stocks ended higher on Thursday, as investors digested corporate earnings and reacted to the European Central Bank decision to leave rates unchanged. The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended provisionally higher 0.51 percent. Among the major bourses, France’s CAC index was the top performer, up 1.60 percent. The FTSE 100 in London ended 0.59 percent higher while the DAX in Frankfurt closed up by 1.03 percent. Europe’s autos stocks led the gains Thursday afternoon, jumping 3.15 percent amid earnings news.
In Currency Markets the pound fell on Thursday as the dollar strengthened and relief about British Conservative lawmakers backing Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit strategy gave way to fresh fears about the risk of a no-deal UK departure from the European Union. The prospect of politics scuppering a divorce deal has weakened sterling in recent days. The pound was down half a percent versus the dollar at $1.2808, a seven-week low, and down 0.4 percent against the euro to 88.82 pence, its weakest in three weeks.
In Commodities Markets oil prices stabilized on Thursday, bouncing back from an early sell-off. Brent crude oil fell 82 cents, or 1.1 percent, to a low of $75.35 a barrel before rallying to around $76.37, up 20 cents. The global benchmark has lost more than $10 a barrel since hitting a high of $86.74 on Oct. 3. U.S. light crude was up 20 cents at $67.02 after touching an intra-day low of $65.99. Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Thursday that there could be a need for intervention to reduce oil stockpiles after increases in recent months.
In US Equity Markets stocks gained on Thursday, on strong corporate earnings from software company Microsoft and automaker Ford. Microsoft jumped 6.1 percent after topping consensus estimates for revenue and profit, helped by strong demand for its Azure cloud computing and Office 365 software products. Ford Motor which is struggling with sales in China, rose 7.4 percent as its earnings report raised hopes for a strong finish to the year. The S&P 500 was up 1.14 percent, at 2,686.29 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.98 percent, at 7,248.99.
In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury held near three-week lows on Thursday as volatile equity markets boosted demand for low-risk U.S. government debt, though technical resistance limited bond price gains. Benchmark 10-year Treasury yields fell to 3.09 percent on Wednesday, the lowest since Oct. 3, before rising back to 3.12 percent on Thursday. The Treasury Department will sell $31 billion in seven-year notes on Thursday, the final sale of $108 billion in coupon-bearing supply this week.