Equities markets see gains

Europe’s markets were higher on Thursday. The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was 0.72 percent higher to 1,550.68. In Madrid, the IBEX gained 0.48 percent to 14,582.9. The Dax was up 0.64 percent to 7,853.79, while the Paris CAC-40 added 0.75 percent to 5,733.37. In London, the FTSE 100 added 0.83 percent to 6,486.4 and the FTSE 250 was up 1.38 percent to 11,039.5.

In early afternoon trade on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.05 percent higher to 13,885.22, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.3 percent to 2,707.02 and the S&P 500 had gained 0.17 percent to 1,528.07.

Asia-Pacific region equities markets saw gains as well. In Australia, the Sydney Ordinaries and the S&P/ASX200 each rose by an identical 0.87 percent to 6,548 and 6,538.1 respectively. The Shanghai Composite gained 1.33 percent to 5,409.4, while in India the Sensex was 1.35 percent higher to 17,150.56. South Korea’s Kospi index added 1.36 percent to 1,945.28 in its first day of trade after three days off for holidays, while in Taiwan the Taiex was up 1.69 percent to 9,413.65. The Straits Times index closed at 3,714.72 in Singapore, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.4 percent as it closed above the 27,000 level for the first time at a record 27,065.15. Tokyo’s markets were higher as well, as the Nikkei 225 had its highest close in a month and a half with a gain of 2.41 percent to 16,832.22. The Topix index added 2.48 percent to 1,615.15 while the Mothers market was 5.52 percent higher to 720.5.

Crude oil prices were higher as inventories declined at a major US storage terminal, while metals and grains prices were also higher.

The US dollar hit another new low versus the euro and also weakened versus sterling.

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