Friday 31 March 2017

Markets rise as US economy shows momentum

Markets mostly rose on Thursday.

The S&P 500 rose 0.3 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 rose 0.5 percent.

Earlier in Asia, however, stocks fell. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent and the Shanghai Composite fell 0.9 percent.

Economic data helped prop up markets in the West.

In the US, a report showed that the economy expanded at a 2.1 percent annualised rate in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than the previously-reported 1.9 percent rate, while another report showed that jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 258,000 in the latest week, near their lowest level in decades.

“This is a market that looks like it may be gaining some traction as we go into the end of the month. The upward revision to GDP suggests economic momentum, and that’s providing some lift,” said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments.

In Germany, inflation fell to 1.5 percent in March from 2.2 percent in February, which helped ease expectations of a rate hike by the European Central Bank.

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