· European bourses open slightly higher on Thursday morning, with investors awaiting data and monitoring speeches from central bankers at the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) annual meeting in Washington D.C.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.06 percent higher with most sectors moving in positive territory.
· Asian stocks reached a 10-year high on Thursday, riding the bull run in global equity markets, while the dollar sagged after the Federal Reserve showed a more guarded view towards inflation.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.55 percent and at its highest since December 2007.
· Japan’s Nikkei share average scaled its loftiest peak in more than two decades on Thursday, hoisted by records on Wall Street and underpinned by media forecasts that the ruling party bloc was headed for a win in elections later this month.
The Nikkei ended up 0.4 percent at 20,954.72, after earlier rising as high as 20,994.40, its highest since December, 1996.
· China’s major indexes were mixed on Thursday, as gains in financial stocks offset losses in resources firms after Beijing vowed to curb pollution throughout winter.
The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.3 percent, to 3,912.95 points, while the Shanghai Composite Index shed 0.1percent to 3,386.10 points.
· Hong Kong stocks ended higher on Thursday, tracking the global rally in equities and led higher by financial firms, which tracked gains in mainland peers and helped mitigate losses in energy shares.
The Hang Seng index rose 0.2 percent, to 28,459.03 points, while the China Enterprises Index gained 0.8percent, to 11,500.34 points.
Reference: Reuters, CNBC
Thai
Eng