NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Most stock markets around the world pushed higher Tuesday on investor relief over the end of the US government shutdown, dealers said.
Leading bourses in Asia climbed more than one percent, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at records for the third straight day.
“A resolution to the US government shutdown has helped boost Asian and European indices,” said IG analyst Joshua Mahony.
“However, with a short-term solution in place, we will be back in the same position in weeks.”
Democrats on Monday agreed to a Republican deal that brought an end to the three-day federal shutdown — the first since 2013 — and keeps the government running until February 8.
Wall Street hit new records Monday and continued to push higher in trading on Tuesday, led by Netflix, which climbed more than 10 percent thanks to positivie results.
That was the latest of the upbeat earnings reports following US tax reform, with many companies pointing to higher profits under the lower tax rate.
“What we’re really seeing is confidence build from companies and from consumers,” said Maris Ogg of Tower Bridge Associates.
Pullback ahead?
Most major European bourses gained ground after Asia extended a new year rally on continued optimism about the upcoming earnings season.
Frankfurt’s DAX 30 struck a record high after a key survey showed surging German investor confidence in January.
The ZEW institute’s monthly index of financial players’ economic expectations added 3.0 points to 20.4, a much sharper gain than the 0.5-point increase forecast by analysts.
Equity markets remain upbeat, brokers say, despite having surged in recent weeks on the back of a robust global economy and increased optimism following US tax reform.
Some investors are eyeing a pullback in stocks for a market that is “overbought on a short-term basis,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare, but he added that there is reason to question that outcome.
“A consolidation phase wouldn’t surprise anybody, yet the staying factor for many in the market already is that a lot of sidelined participants are hoping for a pullback to put money to work,” he said.
Sentiment also was bolstered by a report from the International Monetary Fund raising its world growth outlook and predicting at least a short-term boost from the US tax reform.
The improved IMF outlook also gave a boost to oil prices, with analysts expecting stronger growth to boost petroleum demand.
Key figures around 2130 GMT
New York – DOW: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 26,210.81 (close)
New York – S&P 500: UP 0.2 percent at 2,839.13 (close)
New York – Nasdaq: UP 0.7 percent at 7,460.29 (close)
London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 7,731.83 points (close)
Frankfurt – DAX 30: UP 0.7 percent at 13,559.60 (close)
Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 5,535.26 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.1 percent at 3,669.88
Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.3 percent at 24,124.15 (close)
Hong Kong – Hang Seng: UP 1.7 percent at 32,930.70 (close)
Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,546.50 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2300 from $1.2263 at 2200 GMT
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.4001 from $1.3987
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 110.32 yen from 110.92 yen
Oil – Brent North Sea: UP 93 cents at $69.96 per barrel
Oil – West Texas Intermediate: UP 90 cents at $64.47 per barrel
© Agence France-Presse