Wall Street stocks climbed on Thursday due to a rally in shares of banks, which rose on the news that U.S. banking regulators decided to ease restrictions created in the aftermath of the Great Recessions, allowing banks to more easily make large investments into venture capital and similar funds. On the data front, the U.S. economy shrank by 5% in the first quarter of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.2%, the S&P 500 finished 1.1% higher, and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1%.
In Asia, stocks were mostly higher on Friday, also cheering the reports that U.S. regulators removed some limits on banks’ ability to make investments. The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rose 1% while Seoul’s Kospi gained 0.7%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.4%, and the S&P-ASX 200 in Sydney added 1.1%. Chinese markets were closed for a holiday.
European markets climbed at the open as the German infection rates declined. Meanwhile, Air France-KLM stocks rallied after the Netherlands promised more state aid. At the same time, gains in stocks are tempered by a record rise in coronavirus cases in the U.S. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.7%.
Meanwhile, dollar demand started to wane as risk sentiment looks mostly positive. EURUSD has settled marginally above the 1.12 handle, struggling for firmer direction at the end of the trading week following two daily pullbacks. Should risk demand deteriorate any time soon, the pair may be easily pushed into negative territory again.
Elsewhere, bitcoin price failed to get back above the 50-DMA and extended the decline, threatening the $9,000 figure on Friday. A break below this significant support could bring the leading digital currency to the $8,800 region next. On the upside, the mentioned moving average now acts as the immediate resistance.
