Yemen's Houthi group denies involvement in drone attack on Egyptian port

Yemen's Houthi group on Thursday denied media reports linking it to a drone attack that Egyptian authorities said caused a fire on two gas-related vessels at Egypt's Damietta Port on the Mediterranean coast.

In a statement carried by the group-affiliated Saba news agency, a Houthi source said there was "no truth to the rumors" alleging the group had targeted a vessel at Damietta Port in Egypt.

The source stressed that the group's military operations are directed only against Saudi Arabia, describing its position as "clear, declared, and explicit."

The source also said that navigation in the Red Sea is safe and that "there is no justification for any concerns."

The denial came after Egyptian authorities said preliminary investigations indicated that a drone attack caused Wednesday's fire on a regasification vessel and a storage vessel at Damietta Port.

Egyptian authorities said no party had claimed responsibility and that investigations were continuing.

They also confirmed that port operations were continuing normally and the fire had been brought under control with no casualties reported.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, buoyed by a powerful surge in technology equities led by Microsoft after the software giant posted record quarterly cloud revenue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 613.92 points, or 1.19 percent, to 52,208.06. The benchmark S and P 500 added 121.48 points, or 1.66 percent, to 7,437.63, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index soared 679.24 points, or 2.78 percent, to 25,122.18.

Six of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors closed in positive territory. Technology and consumer discretionary led the advancing groups, climbing 5.24 percent and 1.57 percent, respectively. On the losing side, communication services and consumer staples led the decliners, sliding 2.52 percent and 2.24 percent.