Stocks up, progress cited with China

U.S. stocks rose for a third day as investors greeted the latest batch of earnings optimistically amid signs the Trump administration will ease its trade war with China. The dollar fell the most since July and oil tumbled after OPEC output surged to the highest since 2016.

The S&P 500 continued to claw back from the worst month in seven years as earnings that for weeks had done little to jolt shares higher contributed to Thursday’s gain. DowDuPont rallied the most since 2015 on its results. NXP Semiconductors led a rally in chipmakers that reported a batch of solid profits, boosting technology shares ahead of Apple’s results after the market’s close. Homebuilders rallied, while utility stocks slumped.

Equities also got a lift from a President Donald Trump tweet claiming progress in trade negotiations with China. The dollar extended its sell-off to the most since March after it ended October at the highest in more than a year. The 10year Treasury yield slipped after data on manufacturing missed estimates ahead of Friday’s jobs report.

Investors are looking for reasons to be positive after a tumultuous October, the worst month for global shares since May 2012. While risks abound from the likes of European politics and slowing Chinese growth, bulls are hoping some of the momentum garnered at the end of last month from firm U.S. economic data can be sustained. The focus turns to Apple Thursday, then to the monthly U.S. jobs report Friday.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index advanced with telecoms and travel companies leading the way. While strong results from the likes of ING Groep NV helped buoy sentiment, not all the news was positive, with Royal Dutch Shell Plc declining after profit fell short of expectations.

Elsewhere, oil extended a decline on reports of increased Russian output and gold jumped with emerging market assets. In China, the yuan rallied from the weakest level in a decade as the country’s leadership signaled that further stimulus measures are being planned.