Global stocks grind higher on growth hopes, oil ebbs on Covid-19 fears
Global stocks ground higher while oil ebbed on Thursday as investors diverged over whether to bet on economic recovery in the United States and other developed markets or worry about a surge in COVID-19 cases in India and elsewhere.
With vaccination rates rising and pandemic-weary citizens embracing more freedoms to drive growth in some major economies, MSCI’s broadest global gauge of stocks was up 0.2% in early European deals, trading back within 1% of its all-time closing high after a recent mini sell-off.
With the European Central Bank holding a policy meeting, Europe’s top indexes posted stronger gains. The broad STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.5%, also bolstered by upbeat earnings from Nestle and Volvo.
