By IFCMarkets

US stock market rally continued on Thursday as Senate overwhelmingly approved the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement a day after the phase one trade deal with China. The S&P 500 gained 0.8% to new record 3316.81. The Dow Jones industrial average advanced 0.9% to fresh record 29927.64. Nasdaq composite index rallied 1.1% to record 9357.13. The dollar weakening reversed as the number of people applying for first time jobless benefits fell for the fifth week in a row and retail sales increased at expected 0.3% last month: live dollar index data show the ICE US Dollar index, a measure of the dollar’s strength against a basket of six rival currencies, added 0.1% to 97.29 and is higher currently. Futures in stock indexes point to higher openings today.

European stocks extended gains on Thursday buoyed by trade optimism. The GBP/USD climb continued yesterday with EUR/USD turning lower and no change in the dynamics for both pairs. The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended 0.2% higher led by utility stocks. Germany’s DAX 30 slipped 0.02% to 13429.43. France’s CAC 40 however rose 0.1% while UK’s FTSE 100 lost 0.4% to 7609.81.

Asian stock indices are mostly higher today. Nikkei ended up 0.5% at 24041.26 with yen slide against dollar slowing. Chinese stocks are rising despite report China’s economic growth slowed to three-decade low 6.1%: the Shanghai Composite Index is up 0.05% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is 0.5% higher. Australia’s All Ordinaries Index extended gains 0.3% despite Australian dollar reversing its slide against the greenback.

Brent futures prices are extending gains today. Prices ended higher yesterday: March Brent crude rose 1% to $64.62 a barrel on Thursday.

Gold prices are rebounding today. Prices slid on Thursday: February gold lost 0.2% to $1550.50 an ounce.

Market Analysis provided by IFCMarkets

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