It has gained nearly 2 per cent this week, its best weekly showing since March.European bourses opened positive, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index on track for its third straight week of gains, its longest winning streak since January. However, the threat of a strike remained after Washington's earlier warnings against the Syrian government for what is said was a suspected poison gas attack on its civilians. "It would be naïve in the extreme to suggest that the events of the last 24 hours means that the threat of an escalation of geopolitical factors has passed," said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets in London. "But for now while the background noise is driving the short-term direction as markets gyrate higher and lower, recent price action might suggest that we could look to head towards the upper end of the trading range in the coming days, particularly if US earnings come in ahead of expectations. US WTI crude futures rose 0.2 per cent to $67.19.

Source: Economic Times April 13, 2018 00:56 UTC