In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 ended up 0.68 percent, with all sectors, except travel and health care, posting solid gains by the finish. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 jumped 0.49 percent by the close, despite an gain in sterling, while France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.14 percent and Germany’s DAX rose 0.93 percent. All of Europe’s main automakers were in the black with a number of French and German brands leading the way. IG Group fell to the bottom of the Stoxx 600, off more than 7 percent, after the trading firm posted earnings.

In Currency Markets the US dollar fell to a nine-week low against a basket of major currencies on Thursday as investors shifted their focus from a trade row between China and the United States to the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening plans. The euro rose 0.9 percent against the weaker dollar at $1.1777. The Norwegian crown meanwhile fell more than 1 percent versus the euro after the country’s central bank raised interest rates for the first time in seven years, as expected, but trimmed its rate forecasts.

In Commodities Markets Oil prices steadied on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump called on OPEC to “get prices down now!”, slowing an upward pressure that has pushed the market toward four-year highs. Brent crude oil was down 20 cents at $79.20 a barrel. U.S. light crude oil was up 30 cents at $71.42 a barrel after rising nearly 2 percent on Wednesday. The North Sea benchmark has been trading close to $80 a barrel, near its highest for almost four years, on expectations that U.S. sanctions against Iran, OPEC’s third biggest producer, will reduce supply in world markets.

In US Equity Markets the Dow on Thursday became the last of the benchmark indexes to regain record territory, boosted by gains in industrial companies on continued relief that fresh U.S. and China tariffs were less damaging than feared. Shares of Caterpillar rose 2.3 percent and provided the biggest boost to the blue-chip index. Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with a 1.1 percent gain in shares of Apple boosting the technology sector. The S&P 500 was up 0.46 percent, at 2,921.27 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.67 percent, at 8,003.13.

In Bond Markets Italian bond yields rose on Thursday, reversing earlier falls in a move analysts attributed to a threat from the 5-Star Movement’s Luigi di Maio to quit the coalition if the party’s spending demands in the 2019 budget are not met. Five-year bond yields were up 9 bps at 1.94 percent, while 10-year yields were 4 bps higher at 2.90 percent. Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund yield was down 1 basis point at 0.48 percent, having briefly touched more than three-month highs just above the key 0.50 percent level as U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose to four-month highs.