US stocks extended gains today, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 1 percent, after stronger-than-expected economic data helped ease concerns about the impending start of the winding down of stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 156.88 points, or 1.05 percent, at 15,152.11. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 20.25 points, or 1.26 percent, at 1,632.77. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 39.20 points, or 1.15 percent, at 3,439.63.
European shares ended broadly steady today, recovering from the session’s lows after upbeat US retail sales and a drop in jobless claims prompted bargain hunters to pick up battered mining and banking stocks.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.07 percent at 1,173.98 points, while the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index ended 0.18 percent lower at 2,661.71 points.
Meanwhile, the Nikkei stock average and the dollar skidded to lows not seen since the day the Bank of Japan unveiled its massive monetary policy overhaul, as investors cut their long Japanese stocks and short yen positions.
In a chicken-egg scenario, weakening Japanese equities prices have pushed up the yen over the past two weeks, as foreign investors have unwound the hedges they put in place to shield themselves from a weaker yen when the currency was on the way down.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald