·         Stocks rose on Thursday, but gains were capped as disappointing holiday sales from Macy’s and a revenue guidance cut from American Airlines pressured retail and airline shares. Fear that the U.S. government shutdown might continue for a long time also weighed on stocks.

The S&P 500 climbed 0.4 percent to 2,596.64 — notching its first five-day winning streak since September — as the real estate and industrials sectors outperformed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also posted a five-day winning streak, rising 122.80 points to 24,001.92 as Boeing outperformed. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.4 percent to 6,986.07.

·         European shares were little changed at the end of Thursday’s trading session, as investors focused on trade war developments and automakers announcing job cuts.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished slightly higher, up 0.3 percent, with sectors seeing mixed results by the end of trade.

 Autos were one of the worst-performing sectors, as Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said it will cut 10 percent of its workforce, mostly in its domestic U.K. market. Ford also said that it would be cutting thousands of jobs as part of a turnaround effort aimed at achieving a 6 percent operating margin in Europe.

·         Asia stocks traded higher Friday morning amid improved investor sentiment following overnight gains on Wall Street.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose more than 0.8 percent in early trade while the Topix index gained around 0.6 percent. Shares of Fast Retailing, the company behind the Uniqlo chain of apparel stores, jumped almost 4 percent.

The upward moves followed even as government data revealed Japanese household spending for November declined more than expected. It fell 0.6 percent compared to a year earlier — economists in a Reuters poll were expecting a drop of 0.1 percent.

South Korea’s Kospi also rose more than 0.3 percent.

Reference: CNBC