Global Markets Inch Higher After Volatile Wednesday Session

By Dow Jones Newswires StaffU.S. stock futures pointed to a flat open after a volatile session Wednesday as reports emerged that President Trump was planning to dismiss Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell--knocking stocks and pushing up Treasury yields--which he later denied. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 0.5% higher and the S&P 500 gained 0.3%.Global stock markets were modestly higher Thursday, as was the dollar, and U.S. Treasury yields ticked up.U.S. stock futures were trading in a narrow band either side of flat; Nasdaq futures nudged up 0.2%.In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 gained 0.8% in early trade. France's CAC 40 increased 1.1% and Germany's DAX rose 0.9%. Shares in European industrial companies jumped after ABB posted a record second-quarter order intake and Legrand raised its guidance; ABB rose over 8% and Siemens climbed almost 4%.The U.K. FTSE 100 added 0.3%. EasyJet slumped more than 7% after the budget carrier said higher fuel prices and strikes by France's air traffic controllers will hurt its pretax profit outlook.Asian stock indexes closed higher with technology-related stocks driving most of the gains. Japan's Nikkei gained 0.6%, although shares of Seven & I Holdings fell 9.2% after Alimentation Couche-Tard said it was abandoning its $47 billion bid to acquire the Japanese owner of 7-Eleven. South Korea's Kospi also closed up, boosted by a 3.1% rise in Samsung Electronics after the country's top court cleared its chairman of criminal charges.Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. delivered record profit in the second quarter, driven by continued robust chip demand for artificial-intelligence applications, and helping drive broader gains in the sector; in Europe, ASML rose 2.5% while smaller peers ASM International and BE Semiconductor Industries gained 3.3% and 3.5%, respectively. STMicroelectronics was up 3.4%.Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar recovered, having dipped sharply on Wednesday amid the concerns of the independence of the Federal Reserve. The DXY dollar index was up 0.2% against a basket of major currencies to 98.591, having dropped to 97.714 on Wednesday.The two-year U.S Treasury yield was up 2.6 basis points at 3.910%, while the 10-year yield rose 2 basis points to 4.474%, according to Tradeweb.Oil prices traded within a narrow range as investors assess U.S. demand signals and monitor global trade developments. Brent crude slipped 0.2% to $68.39 a barrel, while WTI was flat at $66.35 a barrel. Gold prices were down a touch on the stronger U.S. dollar.Write to Barcelona Editors at [email protected]