World stocks inched to a record high on Thursday after the United States and China signed a deal to defuse their 18-month trade war, which has weighed on global economic growth and hampered investments.

FILE PHOTO: Passersby are reflected on a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, August 6, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO: World stocks inched to a record high on Thursday after the United States and China signed a deal to defuse their 18-month trade war, which has weighed on global economic growth and hampered investments.