US equities closed higher on Thursday, July 9: Dow Jones Industrial Average +138.96 pts (+0.27%) to 52,487.35; S&P 500 +60.90 pts (+0.81%) to 7,543.61; Nasdaq Composite +336.24 pts (+1.30%) to 26,206.89.

On Thursday the New Zealand dollar rose over 1% versus the US dollar to a two-week high of 0.5763 and also strengthened versus the Australian dollar after robust manufacturing data raised odds of further RBNZ tightening. New Zealand manufacturing grew at its fastest pace in nearly five years last month, and the RBNZ governor said economic expansion is stronger than expected. Market participants said the RBNZ's shift to a more hawkish stance has supported the currency; Monex FX trader Andrew Hazlett said if the bank raises rates further he expects additional NZD appreciation into year-end.

Several South Korean brokers raised LG Electronics' target prices after the company’s preliminary Q2 results beat expectations, citing stable core profitability and higher growth hopes for robotics and data-center cooling solutions. Six domestic firms — Hyundai Securities, DB Securities, Samsung Securities, Daol Investment & Securities, Yuanta and Daishin — raised targets in analyst notes; Hana Securities left its target at 260,000 won. The mean target across the seven firms rose to 246,400 won, more than 75,000 won above the prior mean. Foreign houses HSBC and CGSI lifted targets to 280,000 won and 270,000 won respectively.