Wall Street indices finished at fresh records Thursday on the back of strong US economic growth data while European stocks edged higher despite the European Central Bank signaling it was too soon to start considering interest rate cuts.
The world’s biggest economy expanded at a faster-than-expected annual rate of 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter, boosted by a resilient jobs market and consumer spending, the Commerce Department said.
Major US indices forged higher after the data, with both the Dow and S&P 500 finishing at records.
“Markets are all about looking forward, and they have a good basis to be optimistic given the boost in confidence, manufacturing and housing data we’ve seen lately,” said Callie Cox, US investment analyst at eToro.
The data raised hopes that the US economy is headed towards a “soft landing” –…
