U.S. stocks continued their gains on Thursday as fears that the regional banking crisis could spread to other sectors of the economy receded, leading the Nasdaq index to gains as investors continued to buy stocks in big technology companies as a safe haven. emerged in the markets.

During today’s trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose more than 140 points, 0.43% of its value, the S&P 500 rose 0.57%, while the Nasdaq index gained almost three-quarters of a percent.

The VIX index, Wall Street’s preferred gauge of the S&P 500’s level of volatility over the next 30 days, fell to 19 from the 30 level it hit in the middle of the month. The collapse of Silicon Valley and signature banks and US regional banks approaching crisis led to sharp liquidity.

Related weekly jobless claims rose 7,000 to 198,000, raising hopes that the Federal Reserve will slow its tightening campaign if the labor market continues to slow.

European stocks also rose to their highest levels in nearly three weeks today, Thursday, with positive results from retail giant “H&M” and waves of US stocks rising this week.

The Stoxx 600 European stock index rose 1.1% on the day, its highest level since March 10, tracking the impact of a recovery in global markets. The real estate sector in Europe rose 3.7%.

The banking sector index rose 1.5% to its highest level in a week, as investors cheered after the sale of assets of a collapsed US Silicon Valley bank and “UBS”‘s takeover of troubled Credit Suisse bank.

H&M shares rose 16.3%, the leading gainer in the Stoxx 600 index, after the world’s second-largest clothing retailer reported a surprise operating profit for the December-February period. The retail trade index rose 3.7%.

Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday as U.S. crude stockpiles tumbled and a halt in exports from Iraq’s Kurdistan region overshadowed the impact of lower-than-expected Russian supply cuts.

Brent crude was up 99 cents, or 1.3%, at $79.27 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.40, or 1.9%, at $74.37 a barrel.

Prices were boosted after data from oil producers said that several oilfields in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region had halted or reduced production following the suspension of crude oil exports from a pipeline in northern Iraq. Expected in future.

On Saturday, Iraq was forced to stop exporting about 450,000 barrels of crude oil a day, or 0.5% of global oil supplies, through a pipeline that stretches from oil fields in northern Kirkuk in the Kurdistan region to the Turkish port of Sayan. .

But Citi analysts today estimated that “changes in Iraq’s internal politics could very soon lead to a permanent political settlement” and that pipeline flows could increase by about 200,000 barrels per day.

U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly fell to a two-year low in the week ended March 24, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday.

Crude stocks fell 7.5 million barrels, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected a rise of 100,000 barrels.

These factors offset a downward trend after a smaller-than-expected decline in Russian crude oil production in the first three weeks of March.

Production fell by 300,000 barrels per day, compared with a target cut of 500,000 barrels per day, or about 5% of Russian production, sources familiar with the data told Reuters.

Markets are looking ahead to Friday’s release of US spending and inflation data and their impact on the US dollar.