international news

Asian stocks were trading higher on Thursday as investors saw the third quarter preliminary GDP reading for Japan as a signal for the continuation of aggressive monetary and that the Federal Reserve would keep its stimulus in place longer.

Japan's GDP rose 0.5% in the third quarter, beating the forecast of +0.4%, but on an annualized basis, the pace of 1.9% was a sharp slowdown from the 4.3% expansion in the January-March quarter and the 3.8% rise in April-June period.
As a result, the Nikkei jumped 1.1% in early trade, and the yen weakened against the dollar, also boosting shares as companies that export benefit from a weaker yen.
The EUR is trading mixed against the major currencies this morning, while European indices followed their Asian counterparts to the upside.
Today, the preliminary gross domestic product estimates of the Eurozone and its major economies will be important for further cues to risk appetite.
In the US, Janet Yellen, the US Federal Reserve chairperson nominee, has backed the central bank's current quantitative easing programme, citing that the economy and the labour market are performing "far short of their potential" and must improve before the Fed can begin reducing monetary stimulus.