Stocks soared across the globe through Thursday’s trading session, causing investors to pour into risky currencies, and selling out of ‘funding’ currencies the dollar, yen and Swiss franc.

Retails sales figures sparked another good day for the pound as the hot summer helped to boost demand for goods. June figures were up 1.2%, compared to a consensus of 0.3%. Data from America also surprised on the upside, existing home sales strengthening for the third consecutive month, possibly marking the end of four years of straight declines for the US housing market.

While US unemployment rates are at their highest levels in nearly 25 years, investors were still happy that initial jobless claims arrived better than consensus for the second week in a row. All the optimism was far too much for the dollar to handle, struggling particularly against emerging market and commodity currencies.

Automakers were making headlines worldwide, Ford posting earnings above forecast in the US, the first of many positive earnings results over the day. News that Porsche and VW were to join forces after a long drawn out battle actually saw their shares fall, one of few on the DAX which did. But like other European bourses, it was in a buoyant mood. Sentiment from stock markets seems to be firmly aligned with the Euros personality lately, so as expected the euro continued on strongly over the days session

The industrial powerhouse of Germany is releasing PMI and IFO figures this morning, but it is all just a curtain raiser for UK GDP figures due half an hour later. A contraction of 0.4% is consensus, any deviation from this reading with see some volatility

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