By , NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Global stock markets meandered on Thursday as a continued rise in coronavirus cases dashed hopes of a swift recovery from the pandemic-induced economic slump and drove demand for safe-haven currencies such as the dollar and Japanese yen.Around 400 workers tested positive for the virus at a slaughterhouse in northern Germany, fueling contagion concerns, yet gold prices eased a bit after a Chinese medical expert said Beijing has brought a recent outbreak under control.Stocks on Wall Street seesawed either side of breakeven as investors struggled to interpret...…By , NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Global stock markets meandered on Thursday as a continued rise in coronavirus cases dashed hopes of a swift recovery from the pandemic-induced economic slump and drove demand for safe-haven currencies such as the dollar and Japanese yen.Around 400 workers tested positive for the virus at a slaughterhouse in northern Germany, fueling contagion concerns, yet gold prices eased a bit after a Chinese medical expert said Beijing has brought a recent outbreak under control.Stocks on Wall Street seesawed either side of breakeven as investors struggled to interpret...WW…

By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro jumped to a 12-week high against the dollar on Thursday after another shot of European Central Bank stimulus to help economies slammed by the coronavirus pandemic, but world equity markets pulled in the reins after a strong seven-day run.The euro rallied for an eighth straight session after the ECB said it would increase the size of emergency bond purchases by 600 billion euros ($674 billion) to 1.35 trillion euros, more than the 500 billion-euro increase analysts had expected.A huge domestic support package from Germany also lifted the euro and briefly...…By , NEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro jumped to a 12-week high against the dollar on Thursday after another shot of European Central Bank stimulus to help economies slammed by the coronavirus pandemic, but world equity markets pulled in the reins after a strong seven-day run.The euro rallied for an eighth straight session after the ECB said it would increase the size of emergency bond purchases by 600 billion euros ($674 billion) to 1.35 trillion euros, more than the 500 billion-euro increase analysts had expected.A huge domestic support package from Germany also lifted the euro and briefly...WW…

By , NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - World shares rallied to their highest since February and the euro hit its strongest in 18 months on Tuesday after European Union leaders agreed on a landmark stimulus package to revive regional economies ravaged by the coronavirus.The agreement after five days of haggling drove down the risk premium on European assets and pushed gold to its highest in almost nine years. Bullion got an extra boost from a weaker dollar and expectations of more U.S. stimulus from Washington.The willingness to raise a 750 billion-euro ($857 billion) fund in capital markets on...…By , NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - World shares rallied to their highest since February and the euro hit its strongest in 18 months on Tuesday after European Union leaders agreed on a landmark stimulus package to revive regional economies ravaged by the coronavirus.The agreement after five days of haggling drove down the risk premium on European assets and pushed gold to its highest in almost nine years. Bullion got an extra boost from a weaker dollar and expectations of more U.S. stimulus from Washington.The willingness to raise a 750 billion-euro ($857 billion) fund in capital markets on...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Equity markets rallied globally on Tuesday as Chinese trade data defied expectations of a deep downturn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, igniting hopes that world economies can soon recover and removing the safe-haven allure of the greenback.Oil prices fell more than 6% as investors doubted that record supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers would soon balance markets pummeled by the pandemic’s blow to demand.Gold soared nearly 2% and hit its highest since late 2012 as investors piled in to hedge against...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Equity markets rallied globally on Tuesday as Chinese trade data defied expectations of a deep downturn as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, igniting hopes that world economies can soon recover and removing the safe-haven allure of the greenback.Oil prices fell more than 6% as investors doubted that record supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers would soon balance markets pummeled by the pandemic’s blow to demand.Gold soared nearly 2% and hit its highest since late 2012 as investors piled in to hedge against...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares rebounded from last week’s steep sell-off and silver prices surged on Monday as retail investors expanded their social media-fueled battle with Wall Street to drive the precious metal to an eight-year high.A shift in the retail trading frenzy to silver drove up mining stocks on both sides of the Atlantic and left precious metals dealers scrambling for bars and coins to meet demand.The iShares Silver Trust ETF - the largest silver-backed ETF - jumped 7.1%. Data showed its holdings rose by a record 37 million shares from Thursday to Friday alone, each...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global shares rebounded from last week’s steep sell-off and silver prices surged on Monday as retail investors expanded their social media-fueled battle with Wall Street to drive the precious metal to an eight-year high.A shift in the retail trading frenzy to silver drove up mining stocks on both sides of the Atlantic and left precious metals dealers scrambling for bars and coins to meet demand.The iShares Silver Trust ETF - the largest silver-backed ETF - jumped 7.1%. Data showed its holdings rose by a record 37 million shares from Thursday to Friday alone, each...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets surged for a second day on Tuesday, spurred by increased optimism about more U.S. stimulus and the economic recovery, while retail investors retreated from GameStop and fleeting interest in silver, causing their prices to tumble.The party for the Reddit-inspired trading frenzy that pushed GameStop’s stock up five-fold in five days last week appeared over as its shares plunged 60% in heavy trade to close at $90.00, less than one-fifth of an all-time peak on Friday.Silver prices also fell on Tuesday, sliding 8.5% to $26.54, after exchange operator...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stock markets surged for a second day on Tuesday, spurred by increased optimism about more U.S. stimulus and the economic recovery, while retail investors retreated from GameStop and fleeting interest in silver, causing their prices to tumble.The party for the Reddit-inspired trading frenzy that pushed GameStop’s stock up five-fold in five days last week appeared over as its shares plunged 60% in heavy trade to close at $90.00, less than one-fifth of an all-time peak on Friday.Silver prices also fell on Tuesday, sliding 8.5% to $26.54, after exchange operator...WW…

United States TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices and U.S. stock futures dipped in early Monday trade as a landmark agreement by OPEC and its allies to slash output by a record amount failed to give investors any cause for lasting optimism about the economic outlook. U.S. S&P 500 mini futures EScv1 dropped 1.54%, erasing a brief gain to a one-month high made right after the start of trading. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago NIYc1 suggest Tokyo's benchmark is likely to slip about 0.2%. U.S. crude futures CLc1 dropped to $22.67 per barrel, down 0.4% as they quickly erased earlier gains to hit...…United States TOKYO (Reuters) - Oil prices and U.S. stock futures dipped in early Monday trade as a landmark agreement by OPEC and its allies to slash output by a record amount failed to give investors any cause for lasting optimism about the economic outlook. U.S. S&P 500 mini futures EScv1 dropped 1.54%, erasing a brief gain to a one-month high made right after the start of trading. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago NIYc1 suggest Tokyo's benchmark is likely to slip about 0.2%. U.S. crude futures CLc1 dropped to $22.67 per barrel, down 0.4% as they quickly erased earlier gains to hit...WW…

By , (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow closed at all-time highs on Thursday as worries about rising inflation subsided, while a bigger-than-expected fall in weekly jobless claims and the signing of a massive stimulus bill reinforced expectations of a strong economic recovery.Mega-cap stocks Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc led the rally, recouping losses from a recent pullback and helping the benchmark S&P 500 surpass its Feb. 12 close of 3,934.83.The blue-chip Dow scaled a new record for the fourth straight session, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is now...…By , (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Dow closed at all-time highs on Thursday as worries about rising inflation subsided, while a bigger-than-expected fall in weekly jobless claims and the signing of a massive stimulus bill reinforced expectations of a strong economic recovery.Mega-cap stocks Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Amazon.com Inc led the rally, recouping losses from a recent pullback and helping the benchmark S&P 500 surpass its Feb. 12 close of 3,934.83.The blue-chip Dow scaled a new record for the fourth straight session, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is now...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock markets racked up record highs on Thursday and the dollar fell as investors bet major stimulus from new U.S. President Joe Biden and unswerving global central bank support would cushion the coronavirus’ damage and bolster growth.The euro edged up as the European Central Bank’s first policy meeting of the year brought no change to its supportive policies.Asian stocks reached new highs overnight, Wall Street rose to touch new peaks and MSCI’s global index of stock performance in 50 countries gained 0.28%.But European stocks lost steam at the close, weighed...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) - World stock markets racked up record highs on Thursday and the dollar fell as investors bet major stimulus from new U.S. President Joe Biden and unswerving global central bank support would cushion the coronavirus’ damage and bolster growth.The euro edged up as the European Central Bank’s first policy meeting of the year brought no change to its supportive policies.Asian stocks reached new highs overnight, Wall Street rose to touch new peaks and MSCI’s global index of stock performance in 50 countries gained 0.28%.But European stocks lost steam at the close, weighed...WW…

By NEW YORK (Reuters) -Stocks on Wall Street hit record levels on Thursday as investors bet a Democrat-controlled Congress will deliver more stimulus spending to help the U.S. economy overcome a steep pandemic-induced downturn.The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all set new highs amid growing calls for President Donald Trump’s removal, one day after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy.U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Trump’s immediate removal from office. President-elect Joe Biden accused Trump of fomenting violence and said Wednesday was...…By NEW YORK (Reuters) -Stocks on Wall Street hit record levels on Thursday as investors bet a Democrat-controlled Congress will deliver more stimulus spending to help the U.S. economy overcome a steep pandemic-induced downturn.The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all set new highs amid growing calls for President Donald Trump’s removal, one day after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a harrowing assault on American democracy.U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Trump’s immediate removal from office. President-elect Joe Biden accused Trump of fomenting violence and said Wednesday was...WW…