European stocks climbed on a busy day for corporate earnings reports, while U.S. stock index futures also signaled a rise on Wall Street.

The Stoxx 600 rose 0.4%, and S&P 500 futures rose 0.3%. Siemens shares jumped more than 6% after raising its earnings forecast, while Essilor Luxottica shares surged 10% after the company reported a surge in demand for its AI-powered glasses. Schroders shares jumped 30% after news broke that Nuveen would acquire the asset management firm.

Despite traders closely watching key U.S. economic data, optimism remained on corporate earnings. Wednesday’s jobs data was unexpectedly strong. Now, the market’s attention is turned to Friday’s inflation report for clues about the Federal Reserve’s future policy direction.

A senior analyst, commenting on the U.S. bond market’s initial reaction to the jobs report, said, “The market’s initial reaction was clearly hawkish, but the data masked some underlying weakness.” She added that the weekend’s inflation data “could revive the Fed’s dovish stance and raise hopes for several rate cuts this year to support a stock market rally.”

U.S. Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year yield flat at 4.17%. The dollar spot index edged lower.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin briefly fell below $67,000, while Japanese ultra-long-term bonds continued their post-election rally, as Prime Minister Sanae Takashi’s historic election victory eased investor concerns about fiscal policy.

Asia outperformed the rest of the region. Asian stocks rose for the fifth consecutive trading day, further widening their year-to-date lead over U.S. stocks, with relatively lower valuations and a more robust growth outlook attracting buyers. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index is up about 13% so far in 2026, marking its best start relative to the S&P 500 this century.

The region’s market performance, outperforming its U.S. and European counterparts, attracted global investors who were gradually reducing their dollar holdings. As companies invest billions of dollars in artificial intelligence technology, reshaping and disrupting multiple industries, investors are actively positioning themselves to profit from the AI ​​boom.