Global stocks, dollar inch higher as Trump-Xi summit gets going
Caution the byword among punters to see what the summit will bring
Global equity markets and the dollar edged higher on Thursday, helped by fresh data showing a tighter US labour market, as investors stayed cautious before the first meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Key stock indexes in Europe and on Wall Street climbed but a gauge of global equities was little changed, with gains offset by a decline in emerging markets.
The dollar index rose after data showed new applications last week for US unemployment benefits recorded their biggest drop in nearly two years.
Last week’s jobless claims data, however, has little bearing on the March employment report due out on Friday. Claims rose during the survey week for non-farm payrolls last month, suggesting some moderation in the pace of job growth.
“The market will be very remiss to do anything too sharp at this point, given that we have payrolls coming up,” said Gennadiy Goldberg, an interest rate strategist at TD Securities in New York.