The UK and the European Union agreed on terms for their divorce. TD Securities recommended selling the British pound on rallies amid expectation for economic challenges and disruptions related to Brexit.
In New York, the Dow finished up 70 points or 0.2 per cent in a short session; the market closed at 1pm local time.
The S&P 500 gained 0.4 per cent; the Nasdaq lifted 0.3 per cent. Ten of the 11 S&P industry groups were higher, led by real estate. Energy fell.
On the week, the Dow edged up, the S&P 500 edged down and the Nasdaq advanced.
In a sign of the pending Christmas break, volume on US exchanges was 6.14 billion shares, compared with the 11.30 billion average over the last 20 trading days, Reuters reported.
US markets will be closed on Friday; trading will resume on Monday local time. The ASX is closed today and on Monday; trading will resume on Tuesday.
The most-traded iron ore futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange for May delivery, ended up 0.9 per cent to 1036 yuan ($US158.66) per tonne on Thursday, after hitting as high as 1059 yuan per tonne in the session.
“The recovery of iron ore is more like a price fix after two days of plunges,” said Tang Binghua, an analyst with Founder CIFCO Futures in Beijing, adding that it was unlikely to see a general downtrend in the near term given the firm outlook for downstream consumption.
The Turkish central bank lifted its repo rate by 200 basis points to 17 per cent, signalling that its fight against inflation there continues.
