Global markets close higher Friday

World
Europe

Global stocks ended higher on Friday, the final trading day of the first quarter.

China stock inched higher with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closing at 3,090.76, up 3.20 percent and the Shenzhen Component Index up 3.77 percent at 9,906.86.

The combined turnover of stocks on the two indices stood at 836.29 billion yuan (about 124.2 billion U.S. dollars), surging from 663.7 billion yuan the previous trading day.

Stocks from the financial industry and brewery industry were the strongest gainers. Both Northeast Securities Co. Ltd. and Xinjiang Yilite Industry Co. Ltd. increased by the daily limit of 10 percent to close at 10.18 yuan and 21.45 yuan per share, respectively.

The ChiNext Index, China's NASDAQ-style board, hiked 4.10 percent to close at 1,693.55.

Hong Kong stocks closed higher 276.15 points, or 0.96 percent, to 29,051.36 points.

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The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 172.05 points, or 0.82 percent, to 21,205.81 as U.S. shares bouncing back overnight set a positive tone with a comparatively weak yen against the U.S. dollar also adding support and giving exporters a boost.

As for U.S. stock market, the S&P 500 hit its best quarterly gain since 2009, increasing 18.96 points, or 0.67 percent, to 2,834.40 as the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index rose 4.6 to 98.4 from a month earlier.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, likewise, hiked 211.22 points to 25,928.68, and the Nasdaq Composite added 60.16 points, or 0.78 percent, to 7,729.32.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index increased 0.60 percent.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery increased 1.42 percent to 60.14 U.S. dollars a barrel, while May Brent crude delivery gained 0.57 U.S. dollar to settle at 68.39 U.S. dollars a barrel, both of which gain the biggest quarterly rise since the second quarter of 2009.

(With inputs from Xinhua)