Shares climb in Europe as the S&P 500 hits the 5,000 level for the first time as strong financial results continue.
ADVERTISEMENTEuropean stocks ended Thursday's trading session mainly higher as the S&P 500 briefly hit the 5,000 mark for the first time ever as investors continue to digest a raft of strong earnings reports this week.
Germany's DAX ended up 0.25% at 116,963.83 and the CAC 40 in Paris advanced 0.71% to 7,665.63, while Britain's FTSE 100 ended in the red, down 0.44% to 7,595.48.
The 5,000 level break came after Wall Street rose to the edge of the milestone on Wednesday as Ford Motor, Chipotle Mexican Grill and other big stocks climbed following their latest earnings reports.
The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, coming within a fraction of a point of the 5,000 level. The Dow added 0.4% and the Nasdaq composite gained 0.9%.
"The index came within a whisker of 5000 yesterday, building on its strong run so far in January," Chris Beauchamp, IG chief market analyst, said on Thursday.
"Record highs continue to be the norm in US indices, and the S&P 500 is no exception. There has been no sign of any extended weakness, and from a macro standpoint, the index’s continued gains despite diminished expectations around a Fed rate cut indicate that this rally is not driven just by what the market expects the Fed will do."
Today, investors have more earnings to go through, including from Philip Morris, ConocoPhillips, Ralph Lauren, among others.
