Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Thursday, May 26:
1. Oil reclaims $50-level
Oil prices pushed higher on Thursday, with Brent futures climbing above the $50-level for the first time in seven months as global supply disruptions and falling stockpiles in the U.S. boosted sentiment.
Brent was up 39 cents, or 0.78%, at $50.13 a barrel by 9:55GMT, or 5:55AM ET, while U.S. crude was up 32 cents, or 0.65%, to $49.88.
2. Global stocks mostly higher
U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately higher open on Thursday, as Wall Street looked set to extend a sharp two-day rally amid rising oil prices.
Elsewhere, European stock markets wavered between small gains and losses in choppy trade with Spanish banks under pressure, while energy shares got a boost as oil recaptured the $50-a-barrel level.
Earlier, shares in Asia closed mostly higher, as oil prices hit the $50-a-barrel mark for the first time since early November.
3. U.S. dollar eases off 2-month highs
The dollar index fell 0.2% to 95.21, moving away from a two-month high of 95.66 notched in the previous session, as traders looked to more Fed speakers and the release of several pieces of data.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks in Singapore at 10:10GMT, or 6:10AM ET, and Fed Governor Jerome Powell speaks on the economy and monetary policy at 16:00GMT, or 12:00PM ET, in Washington DC.
Besides the Fed speakers, traders will focus on weekly jobless claims figures and durable goods orders at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET, and pending home sales at 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
The big Fed event of the week will be an appearance by Fed Chair Janet Yellen on Friday at Harvard University. She could use the speech to reinforce expectations that the central bank might raise interest rates as early as next month, or July.
Odds of a Fed rate hike for June stood at nearly 32% Thursday morning, according to futures markets. July odds were at about 60%.
4. Spanish banks take a tumble
Shares of Spanish banks were under pressure on Thursday as Banco Popular Español SA (MC:POP) plunged as much as 26% after announcing a €2.5 billion ($2.8 billion) share sale as it attempts to ease investor concerns about its capital ratio and batch of bad property loans.
The news dragged down shares of other major Spanish lenders. Banco de Sabadell SA (MC:SABE) dropped 6.5%, while Caixabank SA (MC:CABK) and Bankia (MC:BKIA) lost 4% each. Larger rivals BBVA (MC:BBVA) and Banco Santander (MC:SAN) gave up 1.9% and 2.1% respectively.
5. G7 summit kicks off in Japan
The two-day 2016 Group of Seven Summit kicked off in Ise-Shima, Japan on Thursday. Concerns about the health of the global economy are likely to be a key topic among the participants, although full agreement on macroeconomic policy looks elusive.
The G7 leaders are also expected to reaffirm their previous commitment to stability in the foreign exchange market.