Global Markets Rise as Trade Deal Progress Boosts Investor Optimism

By Dow Jones Newswires StaffGlobal stock markets and U.S. stock futures mostly rose Thursday as momentum in trade deals buoyed investors' sense of optimism. Bond yields rose amid rising risk-on sentiment, with weekly jobless claims and flash manufacturing and services PMIs for July later. Still, the U.S. dollar remained weak, with President Trump set to visit the Federal Reserve later amid continuing pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.Among major earnings today: Blackstone and Intel.U.S. futures for the S&P 500 were flat after the index hit another record high on Wednesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%. Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%.Asian indexes closed higher, buoyed by the progress made on trade deals by major U.S. trading partners. The Nikkei closed 1.6% higher, while South Korea's Kospi was 0.2% higher. Mainland Chinese stock markets also rose with the Shanghai Composite Index closing above 3600 for the first time since January 2022.In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.6% in morning trading amid gains across all national stock markets. The U.K's FTSE 100 added 0.6%. Consumer goods company Reckitt Benckiser's shares jumped 8.6% after its profit beat expectations.Shares of STMicroelectronics slumped Thursday after the Tesla and Apple supplier forecast another quarter of lower chip sales. Tesla's sales in the European Union slumped for a sixth consecutive month in June. The carmaker's stock was down more than 3% after hours Wednesday as Elon Musk raised the possibility of "a few rough quarters" ahead.U.S. Treasurys largely stabilized after yields rose around 5 basis points across maturities Wednesday on increased risk appetite following the U.S.-Japan trade deal and amid hopes for the European Union to strike something along the same lines. The two-year Treasury yield was last up 0.7 basis point, the 10-year Treasury yield rose 0.8 basis point and the 30-year yield was flat at 4.946%, according to LSEG data.Ahead of Thursday's European Central Bank decision, where it is expected to hold rates, eurozone government bond yields rose after the market open. The yield on 10-year French government bonds, or OATs, accelerated after France's better-than-expected flash PMI. The 10-year eurozone bond yield was recently up 7.5 basis points, with the 10-year German Bund yield up 7 basis points at 2.672%, according to Tradeweb.The dollar steadied but remains under pressure after earlier falls as investors await Trump's visit to the Federal Reserve's headquarters. Trump has repeatedly criticized Powell for refraining to cut interest rates. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday called for a review into the Fed's operations and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a Fox News interview on Wednesday that Powell "has to go" and rates need to be lowered. The DXY dollar index against a basket of major currencies was flat at 97.234 after hitting a two-and-a-half-week low of 97.109 overnight.Oil prices were up early in Europe, driven by the trade optimism and a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude inventories. Brent crude and WTI both gained 0.6% to $68.91 and $65.67 a barrel, respectively.Write to Barcelona Editors at [email protected]