Shares in Europe and US hit Covid peaks on Biden stimulus hopes

Shares in Europe and US hit Covid peaks on Biden stimulus hopes

Share prices in the US and Europe have have reached their highest levels since the start of the pandemic as optimism grows that Joe Biden's $1.9tn stimulus package can reflate a battered global economy without triggering a surge in inflation.Demand for US technology stocks sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average above the 32,000 level while the Stoxx 600, a key index of European shares, closed at its highest level since late February last year.The financial markets' upbeat mood was reflected in a jump of more than 20% in the US computer game retailer GameStop to $240. The shares soared to nearly $400 earlier this year when small investors banded together to take on hedge funds that had been hoping to cash in on the share price falling.The shares subsequently fell back to around $40, but have rallied over the past week after the company announced plans to move online. The move will be led by a major shareholder Ryan Cohen, the co-founder of an online pet product business.Cohen took a big stake in GameStop last year when the shares were between $6 and $18, and has been pushing to move away from its traditional bricks-and-mortar business model to become a