Global Stocks: Wall Street further declines on rate speculations, Nikkei sets new 15-year high

U.S. stocks closed lower on Wednesday for a second session in a row with both indices being negative for the year. Speculations on the FED hiking interest rates weighs on the markets. The S&P 500 closed -0.19% with a final quote of 2,040.24 points, after yesterday's biggest drop in almost two months. The DOW JONES index declined by -0.16% closing at 17,635.39 points, now significantly below the psychologically important 18,000 points mark.

Chinese stocks were trading higher on Thursday on bets on further monetary measures by the PBoC to spur the economy. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added +0.29% trading at 23,786.13 points. China's Shanghai Composite closed at 3,349.08 points gaining +1.77% at the close - the highest closing since January.

The Nikkei posted the biggest gains in a month on Thursday and closed +1.43% with a final quote of 18,991.11 points, setting a new 15-year high. Intraday the index even traded above the 19,000 points mark. Bullish sentiment was driven by a reported pay raise from Toyota Motors that others may follow. Increasing wages are a part of the Japanese Governments plan to boost the economy.