Europe Futures Rise with Asia Stocks; Dollar Falls

Europe and US equity futures rose alongside stock benchmarks across Asia Thursday as investors appeared to shrug off the prospect of higher interest rates following strong economic data from the  US. Gains for Hong Kong shares snapped a four-day run of declines as JD.com Inc., Tencent  Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd rose. Benchmark 10-year US Treasury yields were  moderately lower after increasing six basis points on Wednesday.

Gains for US stocks on Wednesday came after the release of robust economic data that will likely  compel a hawkish Fed response. US retail sales in January jumped by the most in almost two years  and homebuilder sentiment rose in February by the most since mid-2020.

The rally in risk assets helped propel some of the most speculative corners of the market higher. The  Goldman Sachs Group Inc. benchmark of non-profitable tech companies rose 4.4% and is up almost  30% this year. Bitcoin rose further after jumping 8.7% Wednesday, the most in three months, to  reach the highest level since August. Standard Chartered Plc announced a $1 billion share buyback  after missing fourth-quarter profit estimates, and Cisco Systems Inc. shares rose after it gave an  upbeat revenue prediction.

• Roku promises cost cuts, sees robust first-quarter revenue; shares jump on an adjusted basis, Roku posted a loss of $1.70 per share, narrower than an estimated loss of $1.73 per share.
• Shopify reported December quarter revenue of $1.7 billion, up 26%, and a little ahead of the Street consensus forecast of $1.65 billion. Gross merchandise volume on the company’s platform was $61 billion, up 13%, and ahead of the Street forecast for 10% growth.

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