NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks made ground on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump said he was meeting with China soon.

The Standard and Poor's jumped 108.91 points or 2.03 percent to close Thursday at 5,484.77.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 486.83 points or 1.23 percent to 40,093.40.

The Nasdaq Composite did best, surging 457.99 points or 2.74 percent to 17,166.04.

Global Currency Markets Show Diverging Trends Amid Economic Uncertainty, Dollar Slips

On Thursday, major currencies exhibited varied movements against the U.S. dollar, reflecting investor responses to differing economic indicators and central bank policies. The greenback lost ground against all the majors.

• Euro (EUR/USD): The euro strengthened against the US dollar, rising by 0.63 percent to close at 1.1384. This uptick suggests increased investor confidence in the eurozone economy.

• British Pound (GBP/USD): The British pound also gained ground, appreciating by 0.67 percent to reach 1.3337, amid positive economic data from the UK.

• Australian Dollar (AUD/USD): The Australian dollar advanced by 0.76 percent, ending the day at 0.6406, supported by robust commodity prices and favorable trade data.

• New Zealand Dollar (NZD/USD): The New Zealand dollar experienced the most significant gain among major currencies, climbing 0.90 percent to 0.5996, buoyed by strong export figures.

• Japanese Yen (USD/JPY): The US dollar fell by 0.51 percent against the Japanese yen, closing at 142.66, as investors sought safe-haven assets amid global market volatility.

• Canadian Dollar (USD/CAD): The greenback declined by 0.16 percent against the Canadian dollar, settling at 1.3854, influenced by rising oil prices benefiting the Canadian economy.

• Swiss Franc (USD/CHF): The US dollar decreased by 0.41 percent against the Swiss franc, ending at 0.8272, reflecting Switzerland's stable economic outlook.

Global Markets Mixed on Thursday Amid Varied Economic Signals

Global stock markets presented a mixed picture on Thursday as investors weighed the latest Trump-China trade furore, diverse economic indicators and corporate earnings reports.

Canada

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite index advanced 254.85 points or 1.04 percent to 24,727.53.

UK and Europe

UK and European indices closed modestly higher:

• FTSE 100 in London edged up by 4.26 points to 8,407.44, a gain of 0.05 percent.

• Germany's DAX increased by 102.54 points, closing at 22,064.51, up 0.47 percent.

• France's CAC 40 rose by 20.42 points to 7,502.78, an increase of 0.27 percent.

• EURO STOXX 50 advanced by 16.24 points, ending at 5,114.98, up 0.32 percent.

• Euronext 100 Index climbed 4.25 points to 1,491.51, a rise of 0.29 percent.

• Belgium's BEL 20 added 3.86 points, reaching 4,290.14, up 0.09 percent.

Asia-Pacific and Southeast Asia

Asian markets showed varied performance:

• Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell by 162.86 points to 21,909.76, a decline of 0.74 percent.

• China's SSE Composite Index saw a marginal rise of 0.93 points, ending at 3,297.29, up 0.03 percent.

• Japan's Nikkei 225 gained 170.52 points, closing at 35,039.15, an increase of 0.49 percent.

• Singapore's STI Index dipped slightly by 0.40 points to 3,831.92, down 0.01 percent.

• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 47.70 points, closing at 7,968.20, up 0.60 percent.

• All Ordinaries in Australia increased by 49.90 points to 8,175.10, a rise of 0.61 percent.

• India's S&P BSE SENSEX dropped by 315.06 points, ending at 79,801.43, down 0.39 percent.

• Indonesia's IDX Composite decreased by 20.90 points to 6,613.48, a loss of 0.32 percent.

• Malaysia's FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose by 5.33 points, closing at 1,506.52, up 0.36 percent.

• New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 Index Gross advanced by 61.37 points to 12,017.84, an increase of 0.51 percent.

• South Korea's KOSPI Composite Index slipped by 3.23 points to 2,522.33, down 0.13 percent.

• Taiwan's TWSE Capitalization Weighted Stock Index declined by 160.33 points, ending at 19,478.81, a drop of 0.82 percent.

Middle East and Africa

• Israel's TA-125 inched up by 1.02 points to 2,553.28, a gain of 0.04 percent.

• Egypt's EGX 30 Price Return Index surged by 796.00 points, closing at 31,640.20, up 2.58 percent.

• South Africa's Top 40 USD Net TRI Index increased by 7.15 points to 4,775.21, a rise of 0.15 percent.

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