Two major U.S. stock indexes set fresh record closing highs on Thursday on investors' optimism about big banks' second-quarter earnings, while European shares also rose and oil prices rebounded from the previous session's bruising losses.
Expectations of more stimulus from the Bank of England and Bank of Japan have contributed to stocks' gains in the past week. The view that the U.S. economy is on solid footing, as well as reduced political uncertainty in Britain and Japan, have also buoyed stocks.
The benchmark S&P 500 ended at 2,163.75, its fourth straight record closing high after hitting a record intraday peak of2,168.99. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 18,506.41, its third straight record close after touching a record intraday high of 18,537.57.
Asian shares rose to eight-month highs on Friday, on track for solid weekly gains, as record highs on Wall Street offset the impact on sentiment of an attack in France that lifted the safe-haven yen.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.2 percent in early trade, on track to gain more than 4 percent for the week in which it pushed to levels not seen since November.
Reference: Reuters
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