Stock markets upbeat as Wall Street scales new heights

New York - Wall Street stocks barrelled to new records Wednesday, with the Dow ending above 23 000 for the first time on strong IBM earnings as European bourses also advanced.

IBM shot up 8.9% after it reported a four percent drop in third-quarter earnings to $2.7bn, but offered a more bullish outlook on revenue growth after more than five years of declining sales.

The Dow jumped 0.7% to 23 157.60, its third straight record. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq also closed at records.

"In what is becoming an almost daily occurrence US markets have once again opened at record highs, with the Dow above 23 000 and the S&P 500 getting ever closer to the 2 600 level," said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

Analysts credit the run of US records to better earnings and anticipation of tax cuts that President Donald Trump is pushing for.

On Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned that the stock market would drop if Washington fails to pass the tax measure.

In Europe, Frankfurt added 0.4% to set a new closing record of 13 043.03 points, having risen to nearly 13 100 points during the session.

London and Paris also gained 0.4% for the day.

Madrid rose 0.6% despite political trouble stemming from the Catalonia region.

Spain appeared to offer Catalonia's separatists a last-minute way out of their standoff with the central government on Wednesday, suggesting fresh elections in the region could resolve the country's worst political crisis in decades.

Hours before Catalan president Carles Puigdemont faces a 08:00 GMT on Thursday deadline to say whether he is declaring independence, a government source told AFP that elections "could be considered a return to legality."

In Asia, Tokyo's main stocks index ended up 0.1% at another 21-year high - but Seoul dropped 0.1%, and Taipei, Manila and Jakarta also turned negative.

Hong Kong edged 0.1% higher to rack up a fifth successive day of gains that have left it at a 10-year high, while Sydney and Wellington were both marginally higher.

Shanghai was up 0.3%. Chinese dealers are watching Beijing, where the Communist Party on Wednesday kicked off its congress to hand Xi Jinping a second five-year term, consolidating his already immense power at the helm of the world's number-two economy.

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE UPDATE: Get Fin24's top morning business news and opinions in your inbox.

Read Fin24's top stories trending on Twitter: Fin24’s top stories