· Stocks added to strong week-to-date performance on Wednesday as investors grew even more confident that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this year to reignite an economy wounded by trade battles.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 207.39 points to 25,539.57, while the S&P 500 advanced 0.8% to 2,826.15. The Nasdaq Composite closed 0.6% higher at 7,575.48. The Dow surged more than 500 points on Tuesday — its second-best day of the year —after Fed Chair Jerome Powell opened the door to rate cuts.

· European stocks closed mostly higher Wednesday but the rally lost steam after the EU ruled Italy was in breach of fiscal rules.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed provisionally up 0.3%, with utilities stocks making a nearly 1.3% gain while banks were one of a handful of sectors to fall into the red, slipping 0.5%.

Out of the major indexes, Italy’s FTSE MIB was among the worst performers amid news that the European Commission had threatened disciplinary measures on the country over its rising public debt. The bourse was off by 0.35%.

· Asia markets traded modestly higher on Thursday following gains on Wall Street as investors grew more confident that the U.S. Federal Reserve may slash interest rates this year to support an economy affected by the ongoing trade war.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was fractionally up at 20,789.14 while the Topix index slipped 0.18%.

Australia’s benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.35%, with most sectors trading up. The heavily weighted financial subindex was up 0.21% as major banking stocks advanced.

· Markets in South Korea are shut for a public holiday.

Reference: CNBC