World stocks at record high, oil up on strong China, US data – Reuters

World stocks at record high, oil up on strong China, US data – Reuters

Global stocks hit a record high on Friday and oil climbed after strong U.S. and Chinese economic data bolstered expectations of a solid global recovery from the coronavirus-induced slump.Government stimulus, a string of strong corporate earnings releases and the signs of economic recovery in countries ahead in the COVID-19 vaccination race have all helped push stock markets onto new heights in recent days.MSCI's broadest gauge of world stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) edged higher in early European trade, up 0.1% to a record high. Europe's top indexes all opened higher, led by Britain's FTSE 100 (.FTSE), up 0.5% and passing 7,000 points for the first time since February 2020."With the vaccine roll-out fairly advanced and talk positive about the future state of the economy, investors are once again seeing opportunity rather than threat in UK shares," said Adam Vettese, an analyst at multi-asset investment platform eToro.U.S. stock futures pointed to a slightly lower open, with S&P futures down 0.06% and Nasdaq futures down 0.2%Overnight, Asian markets had tracked a path similar to Europe's. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was last up 0.4%, with Shanghai shares (.SSEC) adding 0.8% and Japan's Nikkei (.N225) up 0.1%.Driving the move was