· Stocks rose on Thursday after comments from a top Federal Reserve official led to increasing bets that the central bank will ease monetary policy more aggressively.

The S&P 500 closed 0.4% higher at 2,995.11, led by a 0.8% gain in consumer staples. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.3% to8,207.24. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up just 3.12 points, or 0.01%, at 27,222.97, after dropping as much as151.06 points. The gains were the first for the indexes in three sessions.

The indexes turned around in the afternoon came after New York Federal Reserve President John Williams said the central bank needed to “act quickly” when the economy was slowing and rates were low. “It’s better to take preventative measures than to wait for disaster to unfold, ” he said in a speech.

After Williams’ comments, traders increased their bets that the Fed could go deeper than a quarter-point cut at its meeting in late July.

The market’s gains, however, were kept in check as Wall Street digested a mixed batch of corporate earnings results.

· European stocks closed lower on Thursday as investors digested fresh corporate results and kept an eye on global trade developments.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.2% at the closing bell, with technology stocks trimming earlier losses to trade 1.4% lower on the back of German giant SAP’s slide. Health care stocks led gains with a 0.8% rise.

Investors are staying across the latest earnings season, with a slew of companies reporting their results this week. SAP stock fell5.6% after Europe’s most valuable tech company’s quarterly revenue and adjusted operating profit came in below expectations, dragging down tech stocks throughout the continent.

· Stocks in Asia Pacific traded higher on Friday morning, as comments from a U.S. Federal Reserve official led to rising expectations the central bank could ease monetary policy more than expected.

The Nikkei 225 in Japan added in the 0.52% in early trade, as shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron surged 2.67%. The Topix index also rose 0.52%.

In South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.7%, as shares of industry heavyweight Samsung Electronics advanced 1.41%.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 also rose 0.18%, as gold miners saw strong gains with shares of Newcrest Mining, Evolution Mining and Alacer Gold jumping at least 3% each.

Reference: CNBC