In European Equity Markets stocks rose on Thursday, with some major companies such as France’s second-biggest listed bank Societe Generale and oil major Total advancing after their results. The pan-European STOXX 600 index climbed 0.8 percent. Societe Generale rose 2.3 percent after the French bank reported better than anticipated net income in the final three months of last year and said it would float a stake in its booming vehicle leasing unit ALD. Commerzbank fell 1.8 percent after the German lender said it expected net profit to remain low this year. France’s Total gained 1.3 percent after the company also reported better than expected fourth quarter net profits, thanks to cost savings that enabled it to raise its dividend.

In Currency Markets the dollar rose more than 1 percent against the yen and rose broadly on Thursday after comments from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would be releasing his “phenomenal” tax plan in the next few weeks. The euro fell 0.26 percent to $1.0670. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar rose 0.99 percent to 113.04 yen. The New Zealand dollar suffered major losses, falling more than 1 percent after its central bank blind-sided investors by signalling any interest rate tightening might be at least two years away. The Australian dollar was down 0.24 percent at $0.7626. The pound was steady at $1.2535. The dollar index was up 0.31 percent at 100.45.

In Commodities Markets oil prices rose on Thursday after an unexpected draw in U.S. gasoline inventories pointed to higher demand in the world’s biggest oil market, although bloated crude supplies meant that fuel markets remain under pressure. Benchmark Brent crude was up 60 cents a barrel at $55.72 per barrel. U.S. light crude was 80 cents higher at $53.14 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday gasoline inventories fell by 869,000 barrels last week to 256.2 million barrels, versus analyst expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel gain. Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,234.36 an ounce and spot silver fell by 0.6 percent to $17.67 an ounce

In US Equity Markets the three main indexes hit record highs on Thursday, amid gains across sectors, led by financial and energy stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.5 percent, at 20,155.54, the S&P 500 was up 0.49 percent, at 2,306.07 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.45 percent, at 5,708.27. Viacom rose 4.5 percent as its quarterly profit beat analysts’ expectations. Coca-Cola fell 2.1 percent after the beverage maker forecast a fall in full-year adjusted profit. Twitter sank 9.6 percent after the microblogging website reported its slowest revenue growth since going public in 2013. Airline stocks, including JetBlue, Delta and United Continental rose more than 2 percent after Trump met with top management of the companies.

In Bond Markets U.S. Treasury yields rose on Thursday on greater optimism that U.S. President Donald Trump would make progress on promised economic growth policies, while anticipation of a $15 billion auction of long-dated U.S. Treasury bonds also pushed yields higher. U.S. two-year yields hit a session high of 1.181 percent, while three-year yields hit a session high of 1.450 percent. U.S. 10-year notes were last down 9/32 in price to yield 2.375 percent, from a yield of 2.340 percent late Wednesday.