UKX FTSE 100 Index

U.S. stock futures ticked higher ahead of a weekly update on new applications for jobless benefits.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.4% and futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average strengthened 0.2%. Futures on the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 added 0.7%. The contracts don't necessarily predict market moves after the markets open.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 added 0.3% in morning trade, and it is at its highest level in a year. The information-technology and communication-services sectors led gains while the consumer-staples and consumer-discretionary sectors lost ground.

The Sage Group jumped 2.2% for a five-session winning streak.

Carnival fell 2.8% snapping a three-day run of gains and SSP Group slipped 2.7%.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 climbed 0.3%. Other stock in Europe were mixed as France's CAC 40 rose 0.4% and Germany's DAX gained 0.3%, whereas the U.K.'s FTSE 250 edged down 0.1%.

The Swiss franc, the euro and the British pound were up 0.1%, 0.1% and 0.3% respectively against the U.S. dollar.

In commodities, Brent crude was down 0.4% to $62.90 a barrel. Gold was up 0.2% to $1,744.70 a troy ounce.

German 10-year bund yields were down to minus 0.323% and 10-year U.K. government debt known as gilts yields strengthened to 0.785%. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury edged up to 1.659% from 1.653%. Bond yields and prices move inversely.

Indexes in Asia were mixed as Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.2% and China's benchmark Shanghai Composite was flat, rising 0.1% after declining 0.6% earlier, whereas Japan's Nikkei 225 index was broadly flat, losing 0.1% after falling 0.7%.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 08, 2021 03:58 ET (07:58 GMT)

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