At around 09:10 in Lisbon, the EuroStoxx 600 index rose by 0.73% to 545.82 points.
Stock markets in London, Paris, and Frankfurt increased by 0.35%, 0.97%, and 1.02% respectively, while Madrid and Milan both gained 0.57%.
Lisbon’s stock market maintained its opening trend, and at 09:10, the main index, PSI, advanced 0.16% to 7,706.23 points, compared to its current high since May 6, 2011, of 7,791.75 points recorded on July 9.
It was reported today that the unemployment rate in the United Kingdom rose to 4.7% for the three months from March to May, the highest level since June 2021.
Markets are reacting after speculation on Wednesday regarding the dismissal of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. These rumors were later denied by U.S. President Donald Trump, who stated that his imminent departure is “unlikely” unless involved in a fraud scandal.
Following slight gains on Wednesday, Wall Street futures are nearly stable to mixed, with the Dow Jones Industrials down 0.06%, the S&P 500 up 0.07%, and the Nasdaq rising 0.21%.
The Nasdaq, a high-tech index, closed up 0.25% at 20,730.49 points.
The Dow Jones closed with an increase of 0.53% at 44,254.78 points, compared to its highest level since the index’s inception in 1896 of 45,014.04 points on December 4, 2024.
In Asia, the Nikkei index on the Tokyo Stock Exchange closed with a gain of 0.60%, while the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s benchmark rose 0.37%, and Shenzhen advanced by 1.43%.
Specifically in Asia, Taiwan’s TSMC, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, reported its second-quarter results, showing a profit of 398.270 billion Taiwan dollars (13.521 billion dollars, 11.629 billion euros), up 60.7% from the same period last year.
In Japan, the Japanese government announced that the country recorded a trade deficit of 2.21 trillion yen (12.860 billion euros, 14.955 billion dollars) in the first half of 2025.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose amid international market uncertainties due to U.S. tariff policies.
Brent crude oil, the benchmark in Europe for September delivery, increased to 68.57 dollars from 68.52 dollars on Wednesday.
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, rose to 65.25 dollars from 65.19 dollars before the official market opening.
Troy ounce gold, a safe-haven asset, decreased to 3,329.31 dollars from 3,349.17 dollars on Wednesday and is down from its record high of 3,432.34 dollars on June 13.
The yield on Germany’s 10-year bond increased to 2.701% from 2.686%.
Bitcoin fell 1.42% to 118,221.5 dollars, following a high of 123,000 dollars on Monday.
The euro weakened to 1.1591 dollars in the Frankfurt exchange market, down from 1.1639 dollars on Wednesday and a new high since September 15, 2021, of 1.1789 dollars on July 2.
