Wall St jumps on upbeat data
United States stocks closed solidly higher on strong economic data from China, Europe and the US that propelled markets to fresh record highs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 128.48 points, or 0.83%, to close at 15,628.02 points, taking it past the latest record set in last Friday's session.
The broad-based S&P 500 rose 21.14 points, or 1.25%, to close at a new all-time high of 1,706.87 points.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 49.37 points, or 1.36%, to 3,675.74 points, which marked its highest close since September 2000.
Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare said markets reacted well to a "battery of better-than-expected headlines."
The momentum for a rally began in Asia after a surprisingly strong reading on Chinese factory data showing the official manufacturing purchasing managers' index for July came in expansion, rather than contraction, territory.
That was followed by data in Europe showing the Markit's eurozone purchasing managers' index for July also sitting in expansion territory.
The string of upbeat data was capped off in the Us were data showed weekly jobless claims hitting a five-year low last week, while a reading on manufacturing activity showed activity in July expanding at its fastest pace in 13 months.
Mr O'Hare also cited decisions by the European Central Bank and Bank of England to maintain low interest rates.