U.S. stocks traded slightly higher on Wednesday. The S&P 500 closed +0.27% with a final quote of 2,081.90 points. The DOW JONES index added +0.15%, closing at 17,902.51 points. Yesterday the minutes of the last FOMC meeting were published. The minutes show that the board is divided on whether to hike interest rates in June or not. As a consequence of the weaker-than-expected GDP growth and disappointing labour market data a potential interest rate hike might be delayed till September.

Chinese stocks are trading mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng is trading +2.68% at 26,941.05 points. China's Shanghai Composite is currently trading at 3,942.28 points -1.33%. In yesterday's session the index surpassed the 4,000 points mark for the first time since 2008, doubling since January 2014.

The Nikkei rose to a 15-year high on Thursday. The index rose +0.75% to 19,937.72 points. The highest closing since April 2000. Prelim Machine Tool Orders rose year on year by +14.6% in March compared to a previous reading of 28.9%.