LONDON: Airline stocks helped European shares advance on Thursday after European Union leaders gave Britain another six months to leave the bloc, while sterling simply shrugged.
Futures indicate that Wall Street was set to open higher, a turnaround for global equities after a disappointing day in Asia, where four consecutive days of gains ground to a halt.Equities and other risky assets have been volatile this year, while bonds have rallied over worries of a slowdown in the United States and other major economies, including the euro zone. Many central banks have taken a dovish stance, pivoting away from moves toward interest rate increases.
Looming in the background has been concern over a retreat to protectionism, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening new tariffs on EU while the Sino-U.S. trade dispute rumbles on.The world's two biggest economies have largely agreed on a mechanism to police any trade agreement they reach, including establishing new"enforcement offices", U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, with talks due to resume on Thursday.
European trading was thin, a trend likely to continue during upcoming disrupted trading weeks in major markets. Easter lies ahead and Japan is due for a 10-day break from late April to mark the ascension of its new emperor.Major currencies struggled, with the dollar hanging near two-week lows and the euro unmoved.
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