Global Markets Breeze Higher On Record-breaking Wall Street

London, Sept 21 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Sep, 2018 ) :Asian and European stock markets rose Friday after Wall Street bristled to fresh record peaks on mounting US economic optimism, dealers said.

New York had zoomed overnight to all-time pinnacles, as investors concluded that trade war concerns were overblown as the world's biggest economy powers ahead.

"The record high notes hit by US indices ... are setting the tone for both Asian and European markets as the week draws to a close," said City Index senior analyst Fiona Cincotta on Friday.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index was the standout performer in Europe, jumping 0.9 percent despite the rejection of British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit plans by EU leaders.

- China stimulus boost - In the eurozone, Frankfurt and Paris climbed by 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent respectively, as Chinese economic stimulus measures eclipsed festering trade war worries.

Asian equities enjoyed another day of strong buying to finish the week with a flourish.

Shanghai surged 2.5 percent after the Chinese government unveiled the stimulus packaged aimed at lifting domestic consumption.

"For the moment Asian stocks have shrugged off trade war concerns with the focus shifting to China's new stimulus package which is expected to boost consumption and cut import tariffs from other countries," added Cincotta.

"Miners continued to perform strongly within the index as a slightly weaker Dollar is working in favour of commodity prices." The weaker greenback makes dollar-denominated raw materials cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies.

That tends to stimulate demand and prices, in turn boosting mining sector stocks.

Dealers were given a strong lead from Wall Street, where the Dow and S&P 500 chalked up record closes on positive US data, including jobless claims and household net worth.

"Make no mistake, the US economy is running on all cylinders," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at Oanda.

"Robust growth, soaring employment and rising capital investments, suggesting the healthy US economy is more than just a short-term knock-on effect from the intravenous elixir of easy credit and fiscal glucose." - EM currencies bounce - The upbeat mood on trading floors was being felt across the board, with embattled emerging market currencies seeing a recovery.

Those currencies -- beaten down in recent weeks by fears of contagion from crises in Turkey, South Africa and Argentina -- were also basking in the optimism as traders sought out higher-risk assets.

South Korea's won rose 0.4 percent, while the Indonesian rupiah added 0.3 percent and the Indian rupee was up 0.7 percent, pulling it away from recent record lows. South Africa's rand and the Turkish lira jumped more than one percent.

China's Yuan extended gains after Premier Li Keqiang said this week that Beijing would not devalue the unit to offset the impact of Donald Trump's import tariffs.

Traders are awaiting next week's Fed policy meeting, where it is expected to lift interest rates again, while its statement will be pored over for forward guidance regarding further hikes.