U.S. stocks rallied, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest weekly increase since July, as traders bet lawmakers are moving closer to providing more fiscal stimulus. Treasury yields were mostly flat and the dollar slipped.

The benchmark equity gauge rose for a third day with President Donald Trump saying he now wants an even bigger package than what Democrats offered. For the week, the index finished up 3.8 per cent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 jumped 1.5 per cent on Friday, with chip maker Xilinx Inc. leaping on a report it’s in advanced talks for a US$30 billion takeover by rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc.

“We’ve had this whipsaw around wondering if there will be more fiscal stimulus, which I think we desperately need to keep the economy rolling,” said Ron Temple, head of U.S. equity at Lazard Asset Management LLC.

European stocks rose as a host of companies raised outlooks, from Denmark’s drugmaker Novo Nordisk A/S to German online clothing retailer Zalando SE. Stocks fell in Spain, where the government’s cabinet met to declare a state of emergency for Madrid to control COVID-19. Italy’s 10-year bond yield fell a record low.

Investors ended a volatile week with a risk-on attitude. With Trump recuperating from COVID-19 in the final stretch of the election campaign, they’re increasingly betting a Joe Biden victory is likely. Speculation is moving now to whether Democrats will sweep Congress too and then enact massive stimulus.

“There’s also the possibly you could see a Democratic sweep in the election and that raises the prospects for higher taxes, which would be a negative, but also for really pronounced stimulus and that could take some of the more extreme risks off the table,” said Giorgio Caputo, senior fund manager at J O Hambro Capital Management

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin headed into talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday carrying a White House offer of US$1.8 trillion for economic stimulus, according to people familiar with the matter. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said earlier it was unlikely an agreement could be reached in Congress before the election.

Elsewhere, Vanguard Group Inc. returned about US$21 billion in managed assets to government clients in China as part of a global shift to focus on low-cost funds for individual investors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Oil in New York edged lower with Hurricane Delta’s top sustained winds weakening as the storm approached the U.S. Gulf Coast.

These are some of the main moves in global markets:

Stocks

The S&P 500 Index climbed 0.9 per cent to 3,477.10 as of 4:01 p.m. New York time, the highest in more than five weeks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 per cent to 28,586.97, the highest in more than five weeks.
The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 1.4 per cent to 11,579.95, the highest in more than five weeks.
The Nasdaq 100 Index jumped 1.5 per cent to 11,725.85, the highest in five weeks.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.6 per cent to 370.35, the highest in more than three weeks.

Currencies

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.7 per cent to 1,162.56, the lowest in more than three weeks on the biggest drop in six weeks.
The euro rose 0.6 per cent to US$1.1824, the strongest in three weeks.
The Japanese yen appreciated 0.4 per cent to 105.61 per dollar, the strongest in a week on the biggest advance in more than three weeks.

Bonds

The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased one basis point to 0.77 per cent.
The yield on 30-year Treasuries dipped two basis points to 1.57 per cent.
Germany’s 10-year yield declined less than one basis point to -0.53 per cent, the lowest in a week.
Britain’s 10-year yield fell one basis point to 0.28 per cent, the lowest in a week.

Commodities

West Texas Intermediate crude decreased 1.6 per cent to US$40.54 a barrel.
Gold strengthened 1.8 per cent to US$1,928.68 an ounce, the highest in three weeks on the biggest climb in more than seven weeks.
Copper gained 1.2 per cent to US$3.08 a pound, the highest in three weeks.