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| - US stocks hit fresh records on Thursday, supported by buoyant economic data and a strong start to the earnings season, while European equities shrugged off news of weaker growth expectations in Germany. A drop in new weekly US jobless claims to 576,000 -- the lowest since the pandemic began -- helped bolster sentiment. And a 9.8 percent jump in retail spending in March thanks to stimulus cheques arriving to US households did not spook those worried about the extra cash causing a surge in inflation. "The Dow was dizzy with excitement, surging 0.6 percent, or 220 points, to a fresh all-time high," said Connor Campbell at Spreadex. "And, at 33,960, it is one decent session away from closing above 34,000 for the first time in history," he added. The index topped 34,000 during morning trading, but then dipped back under. Stong results by banks continued to help, with Bank of America, PepsiCo, UnitedHealth Group, and Citigroup all beating earnings forecasts. That followed the opening of the US earnings season on Wednesday, when JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo each notched earnings at least four times higher than the same three-month period of 2020. "It's nice to not only see good earnings, but optimistic views going forward, which is very important this particular reporting season," said JJ Kinahan at TD Ameritrade. That may have helped keep markets pushing higher. Share prices often rise on expectations and then fall when profits are announced. But the optimistic views of the top bankers may have helped reassure that the recovery will take hold. Meanwhile, the rise in retail spending would have been expected to inflame concerns about inflation, concerns which have seen rates on US government bonds rise and stocks suffer. But that didn't happen on Thursday, which analysts said may have been due to the exceptional nature of US consumers receiving stimulus cheques and the success of Federal Reserve Chief Jerome Powell in reassuring investors that a spurt in inflation will be just temporary. In Europe, which is struggling with renewed lockdowns and slow vaccine rollouts amid rising Covid cases, leading research institutes said German economic growth will be weaker than expected in 2021. Germany's gross domestic product will expand by 3.7 percent this year, according to five economic think tanks, revising down more optimistic predictions by one percentage point. Frankfurt's DAX 30 closed the day with a gain of 0.3 percent. Paris rose 0.4 percent and London climbed 0.6 percent as it closed in on the 7,000 level for the first time since February 2020. Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in the pandemic crisis as infections in some countries surge and vaccine programmes have been dealt a blow by blood clot concerns over the Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca jabs. New York - Dow: UP 0.8 percent at 33,987.87 points EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.4 percent at 3,993.43 London - FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 6,983.50 (close) Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 6,234.14 (close) Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.3 percent at 15,255.33 (close) Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 29,642.69 (close) Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.4 percent at 28,793.14 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.5 percent at 3,398.99 (close) Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1964 from $1.1980 at 2100 GMT Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3787 from $1.3778 Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.78 pence from 86.92 pence Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.71 yen from 108.94 yen Brent North Sea crude: UP less than 0.1 percent at $66.63 per barrel West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.1 percent at $63.08 per barrel burs-rl/pvh
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