Asian shares set to edge up, after Wall Street tech rally – Reuters

Asian shares set to edge up, after Wall Street tech rally – Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global equity markets surged on Thursday, with U.S. and European benchmark indexes hitting record highs, as the strongest manufacturing data around the world in decades and a drop in bond yields drove investor optimism.FILE PHOTO: The front facade of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is seen in New York City, U.S., March 29, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidU.S. President Joe Biden's sweeping $2.3 trillion plan to rebuild America's crumbling infrastructure added to the enthusiasm for risk assets, as did accelerating vaccine rollouts.The dollar fell, easing off nearly three-year highs in the first quarter, while U.S. crude futures rose more than 4% after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies agreed to start easing production cuts in May.Asian markets ended with a late burst pushing Chinese shares up 1.2%, while Europe's STOXX 600 shrugged off France's new lockdown order to close near its pre-COVID record high.[.EU]Germany's DAX index scaled a new peak after IHS Markit's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showed euro zone factories were seeing their fastest pace in growth in the survey's near 24-year history.On Wall Street, the S&P 500 also touched a new high as it charged past the 4,000 mark after