Stocks in major markets gained yesterday, with the benchmark US index poised for its best week in a year, while the euro lost ground against the dollar as Europe’s central bank said it was ready to act quickly to boost inflation.

US crude dipped to its lowest level in about three months amid persistent oversupply concerns.

The S&P 500 index was on track for its best weekly gains in a year, while markets in Frankfurt and Tokyo edged higher, as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi offered the strongest hint yet that bank will unveil fresh stimulus measures at its December 3 meeting.

By contrast, investors in recent days have increasingly registered expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 138.33 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 17,871.08, the S&P 500 gained 12.15 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 2,093.39 and the Nasdaq Composite added 31.73 points, or 0.63 per cent, to 5,105.37.

Nike shares rose 4.7 per cent, boosting the S&P index, after the sportswear maker unveiled a $12 billion share buyback programme.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index climbed 0.1 per cent, hovering around three-month highs as it tracked to its best weekly performance in a month.

An index of major global markets rose 0.3 per cent.

Draghi told a press conference in Frankfurt: “If we decide [on December 3] that the current trajectory of our policy is not sufficient to achieve our objective, we will do what we must to raise inflation as quickly as possible.”

The comments put pressure on the euro, which fell against the dollar after two days of gains. It was off 0.6 per cent and slipped back below $1.07 against the dollar.

Meanwhile, the dollar rose 0.4 per cent against a basket of currencies, resuming its march upward over the past month.

Prices of benchmark 10-year US Treasuries rose 2/32 for a yield of 2.2394 per cent.

The stronger dollar was one factor pressuring beaten-down oil prices, as the stronger greenback makes commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies.

Brent crude rose 0.4 per cent to $44.36 a barrel, while US crude fell one per cent to $40.14 a barrel.

Zinc prices surged as much as 5.9 per cent after top Chinese smelters agreed to cut output next year by 500,000 tonnes, sparking worries about shortages.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.