At approximately 9:00 a.m. in Lisbon, the EuroStoxx 600 was advancing by 0.31% to 535.13 points.
Stock markets in London, Paris, and Frankfurt were up by 0.17%, 0.40%, and 0.72% respectively, while Milan saw a rise of 0.61%. Madrid was the exception, decreasing by 0.07%.
Lisbon’s stock exchange maintained its opening trend and at 9:00 a.m., the main index, PSI, was climbing by 0.41% to 7,050.48 points, marking a new high since June 2014.
As anticipated by the markets, the Federal Reserve had maintained its interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. Markets are now awaiting the decision of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee regarding interest rates, with expectations of a 25 basis point cut to 4.25%.
The commercial policy and central banks of the U.S. remain a significant focus for the European and American stock markets.
President Donald Trump of the United States is expected to announce the first major trade agreement with the United Kingdom later today.
Monetary Policy Committees from the central banks of Sweden (Riksbank), Norway (Norges Bank), and England (BoE) are also convening today.
In Asia, the main index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Nikkei, rose by 0.41%, driven by gains in semiconductor stocks, while the Topix index, including major capitalization companies in the main segment, increased by 0.09%. The Hang Seng Index advanced by 0.18% shortly before closing.
Wall Street closed on a positive note on Wednesday, following the Fed’s monetary policy meeting, which ended without changes in interest rates despite an alert on Trump’s tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.70% to 41,113.97 points, compared to the record high of 45,014.04 points achieved on December 4, 2024.
The Nasdaq, representing high-technology stocks, ended with an increase of 0.27% to 17,738.16 points, against its all-time high of 20,173.89 points noted on December 16, 2024.
Yields on Germany’s 10-year bonds, considered the safest in Europe, rose to 2.479%, up from 2.473% in the previous session.
The price of gold per troy ounce, regarded as a safe haven asset, declined to $3,333.98, down from $3,386.98 on Wednesday and its all-time high of $3,414.65 recorded on April 21.
Regarding commodities, oil prices continued to rise today, following a 1.73% fall on Monday due to concerns about an oversupply after the OPEC+ decision to increase production.
The OPEC+ alliance, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia, decided last Saturday to boost oil production by 411,000 barrels per day starting from June 1, having already increased production by the same amount this month.
The price of Brent crude for July delivery, a benchmark in Europe, rose to $61.31 per barrel, up from $61.12 on Wednesday.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a U.S. benchmark, also rose by 0.46% to $58.32 per barrel ahead of the market opening.
The euro was decreasing, trading at $1.1283 on the Frankfurt exchange market, down from $1.1349 on Wednesday and $1.1509 on April 21, marking a new high since November 12, 2021.
