SP500 logs second straight gain on trade talk hopes

Dmitry Lukashov IFC Markets

Dollar weakens as Kaplan sounds supportive of rate cut

US stocks notched back to back gains on Thursday after President Donald Trump said he would meet China’s chief trade negotiator at the White House. The S&P 500 rose 0.64% to 2938.13. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.57% to 26496.67. Nasdaq composite index gained 0.6% to 7950.78. The dollar weakening accelerated as Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan said he was open-minded on the outlook for further rate cuts: the live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, lost 0.4% to 98.685 and is lower currently. Stock index futures point to higher openings today.

CAC 40 leads European indexes gains

European stocks extended gains on Thursday. GBP/USD joined EUR/USD’s continued climb yesterday and both are higher currently. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended 0.8% higher led by basic resources shares. Germany’s DAX 30 advanced 0.6% to 12164.2. France’s CAC 40 rose 1.3% and UK’s FTSE 100 added 0.3% to 7186.36.

Hang Seng leads Asian indexes rebound

Asian stock indices are all in green today on US-China trade progress hope. Nikkei rose 1.2% to 21798.87 as yen continued its slide against the dollar. Chinese stocks are rising as President Trump said negotiations were ‘going very well’ ahead of h is scheduled meeting today with Vice Premier Liu He, China’s lead trade negotiator, after the talks wrap up : the Shanghai Composite Index is up 0.9% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 2.6% higher. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index accelerated gains to 0.9% despite continuing Australian dollar climb against the greenback.

Brent jumps after Iranian tanker blaze

Brent futures prices jumped today after Iran claimed two missiles struck one of its tankers off Saudi Arabia coast. Prices ended higher yesterday: December Brent crude rose 1.3% to $59.10 a barrel on Thursday.

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Author

Dmitry Lukashov

IFC Markets

Dimtry Lukashov is the senior analyst of IFC Markets. He started his professional career in the financial market as a trader interested in stocks and obligations.

EUR/USD faces next resistance near 1.1930

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GBP/USD inching closer to 1.36

The Pound Sterling edged higher to 1.3640 on Thursday, recovering from an earlier pullback after stronger-than-expected US jobs data initially weighed on the pair. The Bank of England held rates at 3.75% at its February 4 meeting in a narrow 5-4 vote split, with four members preferring a 25 basis point cut to 3.50%.

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