US stocks hit record high despite growth miss

US stocks pushed higher on Thursday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq striking a new record ahead of Apple and Amazon results.

Meanwhile the euro surged against the dollar as the bank's chief indicated its pandemic stimulus programme will likely end in March, although as expected the ECB held its interest rate and stimulus levels steady.

The fresh record in the Nasdaq comes as a string of healthy corporate earnings reports has provided a crucial boost to trading floors, helping push markets to multi-year or record highs.

The S&P 500 was also close to its record high.

The rising stock indices came despite government data showing the US economic expansion slowed dramatically in the third quarter to an annual rate of just two percent as consumer spending moderated amid resurgent Covid-19 infections.

That was the slowest rate in over a year and below analyst expectations.

But US President Joe Biden announced Thursday a revised $1.75 trillion social spending plan that he is confident Democrats will support to end weeks of wrangling, and which would prop up the economy going forward.

And new weekly unemployment claims came in at another pandemic-era low.

Pressure on central banks to tighten monetary policy to curb runaway prices sent equities lower in Asian trade, as spiking Covid infections act as a reminder that the pandemic is far from over.

The Bank of Japan held its own easing policy in place Thursday, coming after the Bank of Canada said it would end its vast bond-buying programme and flagged an interest rate hike earlier than expected in 2022.

Brazil also raised rates Wednesday, mirroring recent moves by South Korea and New Zealand and awaiting expected rate-tightening by the Bank of England and Reserve Bank of Australia.

The Federal Reserve is expected to start tapering its vast bond-buying programme by the end of the year and hike rates in the middle of 2022.

Meanwhile the ECB's Christine Lagarde indicated that she believes its pandemic stimulus programme, the PEPP, will indeed end in March when it is scheduled to expire.

Lagarde's "strongest statement was around the PEPP purchases ending in March, making the statement more hawkish than anticipated," said Matt Weller, head of research at Forex.com.

The euro popped to its highest level of the month against the dollar.

Concerns over renewed US-China tensions were also in play Thursday.

The decision this week by the United States to ban China Telecom from operating in the country on national security concerns is "malicious suppression", Beijing said, warning the development would damage a tentative thaw in relations.

Elsewhere Thursday, oil prices extended losses following data showing a big gain in US inventories of crude and petrol.

The figures eased concerns about a supply crunch and surging demand.

News that Iran and the European Union had agreed to restart talks on Tehran's nuclear programme added to the selling pressure, raising the prospect of more crude hitting markets if sanctions on the Middle Eastern country are eased.

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