Stocks cut gains after Trump says he will be giving press conference on China Friday; European stocks close higher as EU stimulus plan and U.S. jobs data outweigh China tensions; BELEX15 remains flat third day in a row; Serbia Secures Over 31 Tons of Gold
Stocks were up on Thursday, building on this week’s strong gains, as the latest unemployment data signaled the worst of the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic may be over. 
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 50 points higher, or 0.2% and was headed for its third straight day of gains. The S&P 500 gained 0.7% while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.6%. The S&P 500 was headed for its first four-day winning streak since February. 
The Labor Department said Thursday another 2.1 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. That’s more than a Dow Jones estimate of 2.05 million. To be sure, the pace of new filings has dropped from previous weeks. Continuing claims, which represent a better unemployment picture, plunged by nearly 4 million in their first decline since the coronavirus outbreak.
Gains were kept in check after China’s National People’s Congress approved a national security bill for Hong Kong. The bill will bypass Hong Kong’s legislature, raising concerns over the longevity of Hong Kong’s “one party, two systems” principle, which allows additional freedoms mainland China does not have.

European stocks rallied on Thursday as a massive EU stimulus plan and fresh U.S. unemployment data offset concerns over rising U.S.-China tensions. The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed up by 1.8% provisionally, with most sectors and bourses in the black. Chemicals was the best-performing sector, jumping 2.6%.
At the bottom of the European blue chip index, British luxury car and airplane engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce fell by around 8% after investor AKO Capital dumped its stake in the company at a discount.

BELEX15 is with no material changes once again. This is mainly due to the fact that light gains at Belgrade Airport and Komercijana were neutralized by drops at Tehnogas and Impol. Total trade turnover was at EUR 71ths, while most of this was related to activity seen at NIS. Jedinstvo Sevojno is about to deliver consolidated numbers for 2019 today. No other corporate news were seen.
Serbia has 31.26 tons of gold, which is an increase by 50% compared to the same period last year, whereas the total value of the gold in FX reserves of the National Bank of Serbia is EUR 1.58 billion at the moment, the NBS says for Tanjug. Thanks to the purchase of gold in the past years, Serbia has managed to secure 31.26 tons of this noble metal. 
Source: CNBC, Ilirika