AFP via Getty Images
Stocks rose in Europe and Asia as investors took heart from President
Joe Biden
‘s infrastructure spending proposal, while U.S. stocks held their ground despite news of an increase in claims for unemployment benefits.
Shortly after the open, the
was up 95 points, or 0.3%. The
rose 0.7%. The
gained 1.4%.
The Labor Department said Thursday that 719,000 people filed initial claims for benefits in the latest week, up from 684,000 the prior week, signaling that although the economy is improving, the path may not follow a straight line.
In Asia, the
rose 0.7%, the
rose 2% and the
added 0.9%. Positive economic news from Japan, where the Tankan index of business conditions rose more than expected in the first quarter, helped lift shares in Tokyo.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.5%, where investors looked past a new round of restrictions in France in response to another surge in coronavirus infections.
On Wednesday, Biden laid out what he calls the American Jobs Plan, calling for $2.25 trillion of infrastructure spending over eight years, to be paid for by corporate taxes amounting to roughly $2 trillion over 15 years. The proposal faces tough but not insurmountable odds in the U.S. Senate, which is only narrowly held by Democrats.
“Although this is good news for the economy and it seems to be a supportive development for equities, it would be interesting to wait and see whether this will revive fears of an overheating economy. If so, this could lift U.S. Treasury yields higher and perhaps weigh again on equities. However, we don’t believe that we will see a strong selloff, if any,” said Charalambos Pissouros, senior market analyst at JFD Group.
The next key point to watch will be the U.S. report on nonfarm payrolls for March, due on Friday, when markets in Europe and the U.S. will be shut in observance of Good Friday.
stock (ticker: QCOM) shares rose 1%; the chip maker could benefit from the proposed infrastructure spending.
(MU) and
(WDC) shares rose 5.7% and 6.8%, respectively, as the companies are reportedly exploring a deal to buy Japanese chip maker Kioxia Holdings for $30 billion.
(MSFT) shares rose 1.3% as the company has struck a deal with the U.S. Army to sell up to $22 billion worth of HoloLens, an augmented reality product.
(QS) shares are up 14.9% as the company will receive a $100 million investment from
(VOW.Germany).
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