European markets for stocks have shown a positive upward trend in the last 2 days with the latest stock market rally. This was amid reports from many major companies on their earnings. Firms across North America and Europe have shown very positive performance in the latest reports, driving up stocks. Wednesday already saw positive upward movement, and Thursday has shown more positive movement.
The Stoxx 600, which gives an indication of stock performance across Europe, has climbed up. On Wednesday, it rose by 0.3%, which cancelled out earlier losses of 0.3%.
The most important sectors appear to be retail and auto manufacturing, which rose by 1.1%. However, utility companies unfortunately dropped by 1.1%, but this was at odds with the upwards momentum of most companies.
This Thursday has seen further upwards momentum for the Stoxx 600 and, therefore, for European markets in general. So, the stock market rally is continuing for the time being. The index rose by 0.2% this morning, so it is at a net gain from previous sessions. During this period, we saw the stocks in the industrial sector rise by 1.3%, while stocks for travel dropped a significant 3.1%.
There were a variety of firms that drove this upward momentum in stock prices. This includes Commerzbank, Telefonica, Adidas, Marks and Spencer, and many more.
Stocks in the US have been moving sideways during this period but are at a slightly higher starting point from Wednesday. The stock market outlook is more uncertain here. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both had excellent performances, the kind of streaks we have not seen in several years.
Futures are another matter in the US, as they soured during this same period. This Thursday should give further indications on price movements here, with the release of US jobless claims data. It will also be vital to keep an eye on the intentions of the Fed; their remarks could be very indicative of the future.
