The US reported encouraging key employment figures on Thursday, causing all three key Wall Street markets to rise.
New claims for US unemployment benefits saw their biggest drop in two years, according to the latest figures from the US Department of Labor.
Applications drropped by 25,000 to 234,000 for the week ended 1 April, their biggest fall since April 2015. Claims for jobless benefits have now been under the 300,000 mark for 109 consecutive weeks.
Key data is also expected from the US on Friday, in the form of non-farm jobs data. Analysts expect the US to have added around 185,000 jobs in March, down from 245,000 in February.
All three key Wall Street indexes opened higher on the news, with the Dow Jones up 0.09 percent by 1518GMT. The S&P 500 is up 0.09 percent to 2354.26, with the NASDAQ opening higher but falling down 0.1 percent as the day progresses.
The UK’s FTSE didn’t fare as well on Thursday; several key Blue Chip companies went ex-dividend, pushing the index down around 0.3 percent. Other key markets in Europe followed the same trajectory, with Germany’s Dax down 0.2 percent around midday. France’s Cac bucked the trend, pushing up 0.2 percent higher.