Stocks at six-month high as global growth fears ease Thursday 08:00 GMT. Many risk asset benchmarks are looking to consolidate near recent highs as the optimism released by improving manufacturing data continues to reverberate across global markets. S&P 500 futures suggest Wall Street will add 0.3 per cent at the opening bell, and the FTSE Eurofirst 300 has started the session with a 0.2 per cent advance to fresh six-month highs. Risk appetite is not entirely dominant, however. Copper is seeing profit-taking after its good run, losing 0.3 per cent to $3.83 a pound, while the euro and dollar index are steady. Still, gold is up 0.3 per cent to $1,748 an ounce and haven Treasuries are softer, pushing 10-year yields up 1 basis point to 1.84 per cent. The FTSE All-World equity index is advancing 0.2 per cent to its best level since the start of August. The barometer has gained 21 per cent since its October intraday low and is up 7.4 per cent so far this year. A more relaxed view of the eurozone debt crisis - as Italian and Spanish bond yields decouple from those of Greece and Portugal, and contagion fears decrease - alongside some mostly supportive economic data of late have given succour to the bullish cause. FROM Global Market Overview The latest leg up has come from news that US factory output grew at its strongest pace in seven months in January while Germany's manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in fourth months and China's manufacturing output was slightly better than expected. Also helping sentiment are hopes that the US jobs market is gaining some traction. Wednesday's ADP report showing 170,000 private sector jobs were added last month tees up traders for Thursday's weekly initial jobless claims data and Friday's always eagerly anticipated non-farm payrolls report. Many analysts are divided on whether recent corporate news has been a help or a hindrance to the equity rally - particularly with regard to the fourth-quarter earnings season, which has provided some spectacular hits and misses. The corporate news is mixed again on Thursday as, for example, Sony's warning of a full-year operating loss and weak numbers from Deutsche Bank, come up against better news overnight from Qualcomm and the return of some mega M&A. In extended trading action in New York, shares in the communications equipment maker rose 5 per cent after the company reported record first-quarter fiscal 2012 results. While on Thursday, European traders have settled into their desks with news that Glencore has made a bid for Xstrata , potentially creating a mining group valued at more than $80bn. Another potential positive on the corporate front is the buzz created by news of Facebook's long-awaited initial public offering. In theory, extra supply of stock on to the market should be a negative, but many investors tend to see such blockbuster flotations as evidence the market is feeling chipper. Indeed, on Wednesday shares in Morgan Stanley climbed more than 5 per cent on talks Facebook was to pick the bank to lead on the offering. Confirmation came after markets closed in New York. Earlier, Asian shares jumped after the better factory data soothed concerns about the global economic outlook. The FTSE Asia Pacific index gained 1.2 per cent, heading for its highest close in three months, with the resource-rich Sydney market enjoying recent strength in the commodities complex; the S&P/ASX 200 adding 1 per cent. South Korea's Kospi Composite index rose 1.3 per cent while a positive performance from property stocks helped Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gain 1.2 per cent to a five-month high. China's Shanghai Composite index added 0.3 per cent. Banking shares were higher across the board in the region, helped by Nomura Holdings reporting a surprise profit. The improving global economic outlook boosted Japanese automakers, leading the Nikkei 225 to gain 0.8 per cent and close just shy of its best level since the start of November, despite a glitch that led to the suspension of trading in 241 companies. Trading Post. Forex traders should heed the sign-off from Hill Street Blues" sergeant Esterhaus: "Let's be careful out there." The yen is hovering around Y76 to the dollar, a three-month high that leaves it barely 50 pips shy of the level in October that triggered weakening intervention by the Bank of Japan. Playing the role of Japan's currency cop, finance minister Jun Azumi has again warned he is ready to take "bold" steps if needed to ensure yen strength doesn't get out of hand. A scan of recent comments about the pain inflicted by the strong yen, which have accompanied results from Japan's exporters, illustrates the pressure the authorities must be under. Indeed, it could be argued the need for intervention is more intense today than was the case three months ago. That is because the yen is about 7 per cent more expensive relative to the euro than it was when the BoJ last made its presence felt. But, as Lee Hardman, currency economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, notes: "Yen volatility has fallen sharply since the last bout of intervention, which will make further intervention difficult to justify." Additional reporting by Song Jung-a in Seoul and Vivianne Rodrigues in New York