Stocks Rise, Gold Dips below $1,500

U.S. equity futures climbed with European and Asian stocks and the yuan after China’s strongerthan-expected daily fixing of its currency eased fears about a worsening trade conflict. Oil futures jumped and gold slipped from a six-year high.

Futures on all three of the main U.S. equity indexes advanced on Thursday after the S&P 500 eked out a gain on Wednesday. The Stoxx Europe 600 index gained 0.9%, the biggest rise in more than a week, led by tech and chemicals shares. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index climbed 0.3%, while in Germany the DAX Index gained 0.8%.

A gauge of Asia stocks increased as China’s Shanghai Composite rebounded from the lowest level since February. Thursday’s move by the People’s Bank of China was seen as an effort to stabilize its currency and went some way to easing market concern that peaked on Monday, when a weak reference rate helped trigger the biggest drop in the yuan since 2015 and sparked worries of further declines. Despite evidence of some renewed risk appetite, traders remain jumpy about the potential for escalation in the trade war with the U.S.

Elsewhere, oil jumped after Saudi Arabia contacted other producers to discuss options to stem a rout that’s been driven by the worsening China trade conflict. Nickel futures spiked in Asia as uncertainty around Indonesia’s ore export policy hung over the market. The Australian dollar gained after touching its lowest level in a decade Wednesday. The Philippine peso strengthened even after the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter-percentage point.

The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 1.73% as Britain’s 10-year yield rose three basis points to 0.514%, the biggest advance in more than a week. Germany’s 10-year yield jumped two basis points to 0.57%, the largest surge in more than three weeks.

Gold dipped to $1,496.59 an ounce after closing above $1,500 for the first time since 2013, while the West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.2% to $52.23 a barrel. Iron ore increased 1.9% to $90.80 per metric ton, the first advance in more than a week and LME nickel surged 4.8% to $15,515 per metric ton, the highest in almost 14 months.