World stocks hit a three-week high on Thursday and turned positive for the year as rising oil prices gave energy firms a shot in the arm that countered the effects of increased political uncertainty. Brent crude rose to another 3-1/2 year high of $77.89 overnight amid fears of supply disruptions after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a nuclear accord with Iran and ordered sanctions to be reimposed. Energy shares led Asian stock indexes higher, pushing the 47-country MSCI world equity index to its highest level in three weeks. It is now positive on the year, up 0.3 percent from its starting level on Jan. 1. Earlier, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.6 percent, while Japan's Nikkei climbed 0.3 percent.

Source: dna May 10, 2018 09:00 UTC