European stocks rose for a third straight day on Thursday, with the German benchmark logging its highest close since April 2015 on the back of a sliding euro. The advance in Frankfurt came as the euro EURUSD, +0.0187% slumped to an almost two-week low after disappointing German inflation data and a Reuters report that the European Central Bank is trying to rein in expectations that a rate hike could come as soon as December.

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday as financial shares rallied following a positive reading of economic growth and the tech-heavy Nasdaq returned to finish in record territory after a month-long wait. Earlier, the government said the U.S. economy, as measured by gross domestic product, expanded at a 2.1% annualized pace in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than the previously reported 1.9% rate. Separately, jobless claims fell by 3,000 to 258,000 in the latest week, near their lowest level in decades.

Asian stocks began the last day of the quarter Friday little changed, after what has broadly been a strong start to 2017 for equities in the region amid worries over the global effect of issues such as potential U.S. protectionism.