Asian stocks climbed on Thursday as commodity prices rose and on speculation stimulus measures are helping to bolster consumer demand. Overnight futures on the S&P 500 Index were little changed after the gauge advanced 0.4% on Wednesday, although figures showing that more Americans lost their jobs last month than economists had estimated weighed on US equities.
Asian markets (Thurs)
04:00 BST
Nikkei up 0.19 (0.00%) at 9,940.12
Topix up 0.82 (0.09%) at 929.12
Hang Seng up 241.31 (1.31%) at 18,620.04
US markets (Wed)
S&P500 up 4.01 (0.44%) at 923.33
DJIA up 57.06 (0.68%) at 8,504.06
Nasdaq up 10.68 (0.58%) at 1,845.72
European markets (Wed)
Eurofirst 300 up 15.49 (1.82%) at 865.66
FTSE100 up 91.50 (2.15%) at 4,340.71
Currencies
03:45 BST
€/$ 1.4126 (1.4005)
$/¥ 96.49 (96.72)
£/$ 1.6472 (1.6416)
Commodities
04:00 BST
Brent Crude (ICE) up $0.21 at $69.00
Light Crude (Nymex) up $0.21 at $69.52
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down $0.60 at $940.70
Copper (Comex) up $0.95 at $232.45
10-year government bond yields (%)
03:55 BST
US 3.54 (3.54)
UK 3.76 (3.69)
Germany 3.41 (3.38)
Japan 1.35 (1.38)
Sources: FT, Bloomberg