United States markets close higher, Trump’s tax announcement coming soon

The euro also dipped against the dollar, with political risks, most notably France’s upcoming election, nudging it towards its worst week in almost two months. The markets may also benefit from higher crude oil prices.

The ongoing corporate earnings season added to the upbeat mood.

Japan’s Nikkei index led the advance, piling on 2.5 percent as the yen sank, while a forecast-busting trade report from China also lifted spirits in Hong Kong and Shanghai, dealers said.

The news sent a rocket through Wall Street, where all three main indices ended at record high levels, and the dollar powered higher. The results suggested Twitter’s prospects have not materially improved despite Trump’s frequent use of the platform. Iron ore imports were the second highest on record while coal imports soared 64.4 percent over previous year. Prior to the announcement, investors had been anxiously awaiting Trump’s economic action plan following a campaign filled with lofty promises about boosting the economy. The stock gained $1.56 to $7.10.

Twitter sank 10.7 percent after the microblogging website reported lower advertising revenue in its latest quarter.

Activision Blizzard surged 17 percent and gave the biggest boost to the S&P 500. CBRE added $3.07 to $34.64.

Mead Johnson was up 5.17 percent after Reckitt Benckiser finalised a $16.6 billion deal to buy the infant formula maker. Mead Johnson shares climbed $4.14 to $87.19.

Elsewhere, GBP/USD fell 0.22% to 1.2469.

Germany’s DAX gained 0.86 per cent to 11,642.86.

Yields on German 10-year bonds, seen as among the world’s safest assets, edged down 0.6 bps to 0.30 percent. Greece’s stock market was up 2.5 percent as its creditors met to find a way to ease concerns about the future of its bailout program. In Asia, investors welcomed strong January trade data from China. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 18.95 points, 0.3%, to a new record of 5,734.13. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1 percent.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.11 percent, with 100,854 contracts traded.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude rose 9 cents to $53.09 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 66 cents on Thursday. Consumer staples was the outlier, largely due to a 1.6 percent fall in Wal-Mart shares.

TREASURY YIELDS: Bond prices fell. Although December’s solid UK Manufacturing Production figure of 2.1% has slightly uplifted Sterling, the selling momentum from the ongoing uncertainty should limit upside gains and send the British pound/U.S. dollar (GBP/USD) currency pair lower towards 1.2350 in the shorter to medium term.

The greenback was 0.26% stronger against the yen to 113.54, was up 0.35% against the pound to 0.8031 and rose 0.3% versus the euro to 0.9413.