The main US stock indexes showed a moderate increase, which was supported by strong reports of companies in the retail sector.

The sentiment of investors also gained momentum after the minutes of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve showed that politicians expect the economy to pick up momentum and raise interest rates sooner rather than later.

In addition, as it became known, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits last week grew less than expected, and the four-week moving average fell to a 44-year low, which suggests a further tightening of the labor market situation. Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose by 1,000 and, taking into account seasonal fluctuations, reached 234,000 for the week of May 20. This growth followed three weeks of decline.

At the same time, the deficit of international trade in April was 67.6 billion, which is 2.5 billion more than in March, when the deficit reached 65.1 billion. The export of goods for April amounted to 125.9 billion, which is 1.1 Billion less than in March. Imports of goods for April amounted to 193.4 billion, which is 1.4 billion more than in March.

Oil prices fell by about 5% on Thursday after OPEC approved the extension of the current agreement to reduce oil production for nine months, until March 2018, but refused to consider a possibility of a more significant decline in production.

Most components of the DOW index recorded a rise (22 out of 30). The leader of growth was shares UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH, + 1.62%). The shares of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company fell more than others (DD, -1.25%).

Most sectors of the S & P index finished trading in positive territory. The leader of growth was the service sector (+ 1.0%). Most of all fell the sector of basic materials (-1.2%).

At closing:

DJIA + 0.33% 21,082.61 +70.19

Nasdaq + 0.69% 6.205.26 +42.24

S & P + 0.44% 2.415.04 +10.65

U.S. stock-index futures rose as the minutes of the Fed's May meeting signaled that the U.S. central bank's officials had good confidence in the economic outlook and expected to raise interest rates soon.

Stocks:

Nikkei 19,813.13 +70.15 +0.36%

Hang Seng 25,630.78 +202.28 +0.80%

Shanghai 3,107.87 +43.80 +1.43%

S&P/ASX 5,789.63 +20.65 +0.36%

FTSE 7,509.25 -5.65 -0.08%

CAC 5,344.53 +3.19 +0.06%

DAX 12,628.69 -14.18 -0.11%

Crude $50.75 (-1.19%)

Gold $1,256.60 (-0.28%)

(company / ticker / price / change ($/%) / volume)

Altria (MO) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Jaffray

McDonald's (MCD) target raised to $170 from $160 at Bernstein

HP Inc. (HPQ) reported Q2 FY 2017 earnings of $0.40 per share (versus $0.41 in Q2 FY 2016), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $0.39.

The company's quarterly revenues amounted to $12.400 bln (+7% y/y), beating analysts' consensus estimate of $11.933 bln.

The company raised guidance for FY 2017, projecting EPS of $1.59-1.66 versus analysts' consensus estimate of $1.62.

HPQ rose to $19.60 (+3.10%) in pre-market trading.

Most major European stock markets closed out a choppy session slightly lower, with investors staying on the sidelines ahead of the Federal Reserve minutes due later in the day. Dovish comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi did little to pull markets out of their narrow trading ranges.

The S&P 500 gained ground for a fifth consecutive session Wednesday to close at a record as minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting showed broad agreement on plans to begin shrinking the central bank's balance sheet and also pointed to a likely rate increase next month, as widely expected.

Chinese stocks closed higher Wednesday, shaking off losses as initial concerns wore off from Moody's Investors Service's decision to lower the country's credit rating for the first time since 1989. Equities fell more than 1% in early trading in both Shanghai and Shenzhen, with the downgrade reminding investors of China's continued growth in outstanding borrowings-especially among companies.

(index / closing price / change items /% change)

Nikkei +129.70 19742.98 +0.66%

TOPIX +9.89 1575.11 +0.63%

Hang Seng +25.35 25428.50 +0.10%

CSI 300 -0.02 3424.17 +0.00%

Euro Stoxx 50 -8.41 3586.62 -0.23%

FTSE 100 +29.61 7514.90 +0.40%

DAX -16.28 12642.87 -0.13%

CAC 40 -6.82 5341.34 -0.13%

DJIA +74.51 21012.42 +0.36%

S&P 500 +5.97 2404.39 +0.25%

NASDAQ +24.31 6163.02 +0.40%

S&P/TSX -57.45 15419.49 -0.37%