New York (AFP) - Global stock markets diverged while oil prices dipped Thursday as investors weighed fresh moves by Western nations to pressure Russia and monitored a summit involving US President Joe Biden and Washington's allies.
NATO, G7 and European Union leaders gathered for meetings in Brussels, with the United States imposing new sanctions on Russian figures and announcing steps with its allies to restrict Moscow's ability to use the Russian central bank's gold reserves to circumvent Western sanctions.
In a choppy session, London's FTSE 100 index finished 0.1 percent higher while the Paris CAC 40 fell 0.4 percent and the Frankfurt DAX shed almost 0.1 percent, following a mixed performance in Asia.
Wall Street had a better day, with all three major US indices gaining more than one percent.
Analysts attributed some of the strength in New York to the united front presented in Brussels, with Biden describing NATO as "never more united than it is today" in opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"I guess the coordination of NATO and the hope for some sort of ceasefire is probably driving stocks higher," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.
The US rally extended the week's roller-coaster pattern.The Dow is modestly lower for the week after two up days and two down days, while the other two major indices are higher.
Oil prices fell, with Brent North Sea crude, the main international benchmark, dipping under $120 per barrel.
Prices had gone up in recent days in part because traders believed the EU could impose sanctions on Russian oil.
But Thursday's summits resulted in no such plan, at least for the moment.
Soaring energy prices have fanned already sky-high inflation, causing central banks around the world to hike interest rates and in turn threaten the economic recovery.
"The war, as well as the Federal Reserve's battle to fight inflation, have dominated investor sentiment in recent sessions," said Joe Mazzola, director of trader education at Schwab.
Gold reserves
Business activity in the eurozone slowed in March, according to a closely watched survey released Thursday, as high prices and a gloomy outlook raised fears the Ukraine war could snuff out the economic recovery.
But back in the United States, investors were cheered by data showing US unemployment benefit filings slid to their lowest level, seasonally adjusted, since the week of September 6, 1969.
Elsewhere Thursday, the Moscow Stock Exchange resumed trading of some shares, the second stage in a phased re-opening after Russia's economy and currency were battered by Western sanctions.
The bourse suspended trading hours after Putin order troops into Ukraine on February 24.
Trading resumed for only around 30 of the largest companies that make up the ruble-denominated MOEX Russia Index, which finished 4.4 percent higher after early gains of more than 10 percent.
Key figures around 2050 GMT
New York - DOW: UP 1.0 percent at 34,707.94 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 1.4 percent at 4,520.16 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.9 percent at 14,191.84 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,467.38 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 14,273.79 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 6,555.77 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 percent at 3,863.39 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 28,110.39 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.9 percent at 21,945.95 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.6 percent at 3,250.26 (close)
Brent North Sea crude: DOWN 2.1 percent at $119.03 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.3 percent at $112.34 per barrel
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1000 from $1.1004 late Wednesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at 1.3186 from $1.3205
Euro/pound: UP at 83.39 pence from 83.33 pence
Dollar/yen: UP at 122.38 yen from 121.15 yen
