Energy Markets
The Australian dollar and Asian shares are both rising on the back of trade optimism
The Australian dollar and shares in Asia rose to an eight-month peak on Thursday, as the demand for higher yielding investments was boosted by optimism about earnings and trade. Tokyo's Topix index of shares reached an all-time record, after Wall Street set new records overnight. A trade agreement between Japan and the U.S. had stoked speculation that more deals were likely to be announced soon in order to avoid sweeping tariffs. Nasdaq futures and S&P futures both rose after Alphabet, the parent company of Google, beat expectations to start off "Magnificent Seven' earnings season. The U.S. also has agreements with...