Stocks firm, dollar gains as investors pin hopes on U.S. economy – Reuters

Stocks firm, dollar gains as investors pin hopes on U.S. economy – Reuters

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Stocks crept higher on Thursday following their weakest quarter in a year and vaunted U.S. economic strength supported the dollar, as investors parsed details of a $2 trillion government spending plan and hoped for strong jobs data later in the week.FILE PHOTO: Passersby wearing protective face masks are reflected on a stock quotation board outside a brokerage, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan November 10, 2020. REUTERS/Issei KatoMSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan recouped Wednesday losses with a 0.7% gain. The greenback hit a three-month high against the Aussie and was near milestone peaks on the euro and the Japanese yen. [FRX/]Japan's Nikkei rose 0.8% as a survey showed big manufacturer sentiment bouncing back to pre-pandemic levels.Equity futures for Europe, London and the S&P 500 held steady just above flat into the final trading day of the week before Good Friday.On the heels of a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package, President Joe Biden outlined a broad plan to re-make the world's biggest economy including spending on roads, railways, broadband, clean energy and semiconductor manufacture.Benchmark ten-year U.S. Treasuries, which had sold in New York on early details of the plan and had suffered their