By Asian stocks hit a record high on Wednesday as upbeat earnings, hopes of a large U.S. fiscal stimulus and a prolonged period of low interest rates fanned optimism about a global recovery from the pandemic.
European stocks are expected to open sharply higher, with Euro Stoxx future up 0.47 and Britains FTSE futures trading 0.56 higher.
MSCIs exJapan Asian shares index rose 0.86, breaking above its January peak to reach its highest level ever.
In mainland Chinas CSI300 rose 2.1 to a 13year high and the Shanghai Composite hit a fiveyear high on the last trading day before the weeklong lunar new year holidays.
Japans Nikkei eked out gains of 0.19 while emini futures for the U.S. SP 500 rose 0.35 after a mixed day on Wall Street as corporate earnings have been beating expectations in many places including the United States and Japan.
In the latest example, shares of Lyft Inc rose as much as 11.8 while Twitter Inc climbed 3.5 in aftermarket trading on their latest quarterly results.
Globally investors are raising weightings on stocks as the Biden administration looks set to spend pretty much close 1.9 trillion on its stimulus, said Norihiro Fujito, chief investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.
Although U.S. President Joe Bidens stimulus package faces opposition from Republicans, his fellow Democrats last week approved a budget outline that will allow them to muscle the stimulus through in the coming weeks without Republican support.
The…
