In European Equity Markets the pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up 0.9 percent, with most sectors and major bourses in positive territory. Europe’s autos stocks were among the top performers, up more than 0.7 percent amid earnings news. Germany’s Volkswagen reported weaker-than-anticipated profits in the first three months of 2018. However, an impressive rise in vehicle sales over the same period pushed shares more than 2.6 percent higher. Oil refiner Neste jumped to the top of the European benchmark, after it reported upbeat first-quarter figures. Shares of the Finnish firm were almost 17 percent higher on the news.

In Currency Markets the euro fell to session lows on Thursday after ECB President Mario Draghi hailed “solid” euro zone growth but kept rates unchanged, as dollar short positions unwound on strong U.S. economic data. The euro fell to its lowest since mid-January at $1.211 after the European Central Bank announced its decision to keep monetary policy unchanged. The single currency had initially rebounded after Draghi played down concern over recent softness in data, but fell as the market digested the news and the U.S. dollar rallied. The U.S. dollar index continued its eight-day rally, rising to 91.510, its highest since Jan. 12, against a basket of six currencies.

In Commodities Markets oil rose on Thursday, supported by expectations of renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran, declining output in Venezuela and continuing strong demand. Brent crude oil futures were up 59 cents at $74.59 a barrel, having touched a session high of $74.97, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 23 cents to $68.28 a barrel. The oil price has risen by 15 percent in the last four weeks thanks to expectations that the United States will reimpose sanctions on Iran, a major oil producer and member of the OPEC Countries. Trump will decide by May 12 whether to restore U.S. sanctions on Tehran, which would probably result in a reduction of Iranian oil exports.

In US Equity Markets Facebook’s 9.2 percent jump after blockbuster results and gains in chip-makers powered technology stocks on Thursday, with easing U.S. bond yields helping the sentiment on Wall Street. The S&P technology index rose 2.2 percent, the biggest gainer among the 11 major S&P sectors. The S&P 500 was up 0.74 percent, at 2,658.97 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.42 percent, at 7,102.89. Advanced Micro Devices and Qualcomm were up 14.3 percent and 0.3 percent after the chipmakers posted quarterly results that beat Wall Street estimates, offsetting the recent worries over slowing smartphone chips demand.

In Bond Markets Euro zone bond yields were broadly lower after Draghi’s press conference, with benchmark German Bund yields down 2 basis points at 0.61 percent and below 6-week highs hit earlier this week. Southern European government debt yields edged higher off the day’s lows as Draghi hailed solid growth in the bloc, though they were still lower 1-2 bps on the day. Italian, Spanish and Portuguese government bonds are seen as beneficiaries of ECB monetary stimulus. U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was trading below 3 percent, down 3.6 basis points at 2.988 percent. It touched 3.035 percent on Wednesday, which was its highest since January 2014,