Global shares on the rise in end of year rally
Global markets scaled records on Friday as the prospect of growth was raised by optimism surrounding a US-China trade deal and strong Chinese economic data.
Wall Street saw all-time highs early on Friday before losing steam at the session’s close, with the Nasdaq losing some ground.
The Dow Jones rose 23.87 points in total, or 0.08 per cent to finish on 28,645.23, while the S&P 500 remained pretty flat, gaining just 0.11 points, to close on 3240.02.
Read more: FTSE 100 rises on positivity over US-China trade deal
The Nasdaq dropped by 0.17 per cent, or 15.77 points, to close on 9,006.62.
The S&P 500 was four-tenths of a percentage point shy of surpassing a 29.6 per cent gain in 2013, which would have given the US benchmark its best year since 1997.
In Europe shares rose to a third day of record peaks as they remained on course to post their best year since the global financial crisis a decade ago.
The pan-European index STOXX 600 rose by 0.21 per cent for the day and is up 24 per cent for the year, setting an all-time high.
Europe’s financial services, industrial, chemicals and health care, all notched intraday record highs on Friday.
Chinese industrial firms saw profits grow at their fastest pace in eight months for november, 5.4 per cent up from a year earlier to 593.9bn yuan (£64.93bn), ending three months of decline.