US stocks reversed early losses yesterday but fears of instability in the European Union and prolonged global stagnation sent bourses in most parts of the globe lower as Britain’s pound sank below $1.30 for the first time in more than three decades.

Wall Street turned upward to show modest gains after the release of positive US economic data and a turn higher in oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 32.56 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 17,873.18, the S&P 500 gained 5.85 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 2,094.4 and the Nasdaq Composite added 28.30 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 4,851.20.

US Treasury yields also rose after Institute for Supply Management (ISM) data showed growth in the US service sector increased in June at the fastest pace in seven months.

The report showed that “even though the Federal Reserve is almost certainly going to be on hold for a sustained period due to the Brexit thing, the US economy continues to do relatively well,” said Luke Bartholomew, an investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management in London.

Longer-dated Treasury yields earlier hit record lows, with 10-year US Treasury yields and 30-year yields falling to all-time lows of 1.321 percent and 2.098 per cent respectively.

The rise in US stocks countered losses in Europe, emerging markets and most of Asia, which all fell more than one per cent, as international investors favoured safe-haven plays over riskier assets like stocks.

MSCI’s all-world stock index fell 0.55 per cent.

Traditional safe havens largely held gains with gold rising to a more than two-year high and the yen soaring to a 3-1/2-year high against the British pound, and to two-week peaks versus the dollar and euro.