SUHJY Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd (PK)

By Joanne Chiu and Riva Gold 
   -- S&P 500 futures little moved 
 
   -- Hang Seng climbs 
 
   -- Crude oil rally continues 

Stocks in Europe and Asia mostly inched higher Thursday as a rally in commodity prices continued to boost shares of oil-and-gas companies.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.1% midday and the FTSE 100 edged up 0.2% near its highest since February, following modest gains in Japan, Hong Kong and Australia.

Futures pointed to a 0.2% opening dip for the S&P 500, however, with the index set to cool slightly after three straight days of advances.

Oil-and-gas companies were among the best performing stocks globally on Thursday, with Brent crude oil last up 0.6% at $74.09 a barrel after settling Wednesday at its highest since November 2014 when U.S. stockpiles fell by more than analysts were expecting.

"It's allowing commodity companies to make money and business investment to pick up," said Guy Miller, chief market strategist at Zurich Insurance Group.

Some analysts also noted, however, that higher commodity prices typically push up raw materials costs for other companies, can put pressure on consumers and ultimately exert upward pressure on inflation.

"Consumers are more sensitive to rises in the price of gas than they are to declines in price of gas, so we have to watch that to see if that weighs on broader consumer confidence out there and if that has any impact on growth," said William Delwiche, investment strategist at Baird.

Yields on 10-year Treasurys rose to 2.890% from 2.867% late Wednesday, their highest in nearly a month. Yields move inversely to prices.

Investors continued to parse a slate of corporate results, after a solid start to the earnings season eased worries about trade tensions, technology regulation and geopolitical uncertainties earlier this week.

"With the recent jitteriness of markets...the earnings season should remind people that companies are still growing," said Caroline Simmons, deputy head of the U.K. investment office at UBS Wealth Management.

In Europe on Thursday, shares in Publicis Groupe rose 7.6% after the advertising agency reported solid revenue figures and reaffirmed its 2018 targets, while Swiss conglomerate ABB rose 5.4% after reporting a drop in net profit but slightly higher revenue.

A post-earnings decline in shares of Novartis and Unilever weighed down the broader Stoxx Europe 600 index, however, with the companies' shares down 1.8% and 1.6% respectively, while index heavyweight Nestlé rose just 0.5% after announcing results.

Unilever and Nestlé both struggled to raise prices in the first quarter as some of the world's largest consumer goods companies face increasingly fierce competition.

"Consumers are still very price conscious -- it's a reason we don't think inflation will get out of hand," said Mr. Miller.

Earlier, Asia-Pacific stocks mostly rose Wednesday, supported by gains in energy companies and Chinese markets.

Hong Kong's China Enterprises Index, made up of Chinese-based firms with listings in Hong Kong, climbed 2.1%, while the benchmark Hang Seng Index rose 1.4%. Oil-related stocks helped fuel gains, as PetroChina jumped 5.7% and peer Cnooc gained 4.4%.

Australia's S&P ASX 200 edged up 0.3%, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average edged up 0.2%.

--Nathan Allen contributed to this article.

Write to Joanne Chiu at joanne.chiu@wsj.com and Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 19, 2018 07:03 ET (11:03 GMT)

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