Shares shake off China selloff as bond markets brighten

World stocks were mostly higher on Thursday as dovish comments from Federal Reserve officials and a smooth auction of 30-year debt in Japan eased some recent government bond market jitters.

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Chinese bourses tumbled overnight on reports that Beijing wanted to cool a red-hot stocks rally, especially the tech sector, but Europe was having a much easier day and Wall Street pointed higher in morning trading.

The S&P500 and Nasdaq added about 0.2%, while the FTSEurofirst 300 ticked up 0.4%, as angst about rising long-term government borrowing costs in the likes of France, Britain and the US eased. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.

Oil prices extended their weak week after a Reuters report that Opec+ officials are looking at increasing output targets this weekend, while the dollar was drifting ahead of Friday's crucial jobs report.

An appetiser came in the shape of higher jobless claim numbers, though traders seemed happy to keep their powder dry.

Several key Federal Reserve officials have bolstered expectations of an imminent US rate cut in recent days. Money markets are now pricing in a near-100% chance that one will be delivered at the Fed's meeting in just under two weeks.

"The markets have become a little bit more convinced about a Fed rate cut this month, so that has put some modest downward pressure on bond yields," said MUFG's global markets division head of research, Derek Halpenny.

He said the Chinese equity market dip had weighed a little on the Aussie and Kiwi dollars in the FX markets, but otherwise it was largely a case of "consolidate and wait" for Friday's payrolls numbers.