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• European markets opened higher on Thursday morning, as investors reacted to robust economic data from both sides of the Atlantic, while oil prices hovered around two-and-a-half year highs amid unrest in Iran.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.39 percent higher shortly after the opening bell, with almost all sectors and major bourses in positive territory.
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• Asian shares vaulted to 10-year highs on Thursday as solid economic data from the United States and Germany reinforced investors’ optimism, while oil prices hovered at a 2-1/2-year high with unrest in Iran stoking supply disruption concerns.
• Japanese stocks rallied on the first trading day of 2018, with the Nikkei and Topix pushing to multi-decade highs as brokerage and oil shares surged.
Catching up to overseas gains after the long Japanese New Year’s holiday, the Nikkei share average finished up 3.26 percent at its session high of23,506.33, its highest level since January 1992.
• China stocks extended gains on Thursday, up for the fifth session in a row, aided by data showing Chinese services sector activity grew at its best pace in more than three years in December. ** China’s services sector activity expanded in December on solid growth in new business, with the outlook improving to a six-month high, a private sector survey showed on Thursday.
At the close, the Shanghai Composite index was up 17.40 points or 0.52 percent at 3,386.50.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
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