US stocks shoot higher as dollar retreats

All three major US indices surged to fresh records, with the Dow scoring its third straight all-time high and both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq winning more than one percent.

"The bullish sentiment remains in place, and while we have seen some earnings shortfalls, it has still been a very constructive earnings season for the broader economy and the stock market," said Gorilla Trades strategist Ken Berman.

Investors shrugged off government data that put fourth-quarter US growth at 2.6 percent, below the 2.9 percent expected by analysts.

Instead, the focus was on strong earnings from Intel, which shot up more than 10 percent, and pharmaceutical company AbbVie, whose bullish forecast ignited other drugmakers and biotech stocks.

The records follow numerous earlier equities milestones in the wake of US tax cuts enacted last month. Company earnings announcements over the last several days have signaled higher profits ahead, further cheering investors.

Meanwhile, European stock markets rebounded from a round of heavy selling seen the previous day, but some analysts said the continent's equity investors lacked conviction.

"Even though equities are in positive territory the level of enthusiasm isn't anything special, and it feels like a lacklustre rally," said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK.

Oil prices moved higher, with US benchmark West Texas Intermediate finishing at its highest level since December 2014.

But the dollar saw renewed selling pressure after a brief upward spurt on Thursday following President Donald Trump's support of a strong greenback.

"The euro-buying sentiment is expected to stay strong as investors are convinced that the (European Union) remains on course for (monetary) normalization this year," Masakazu Satou, analyst at Gaitame Online told AFP, referring to a wind-down of the ECB's crisis-era stimulus.

And Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, said the greenback could see more losses owing to Trump's desire to help US manufacturers and exporters as part of his America First policy.

"The weaker dollar narrative remains intact for 2018," he said.

Key figures around 2200 GMT

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2428 from $1.2393 at 2200 GMT

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.4155 from $1.4143

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.63 yen from 109.43

New York - DOW: UP 0.9 percent at 26,616.71 (close)

New York - S&P 500: UP 1.2 percent at 2,872.87 (close)

New York - Nasdaq: UP 1.3 percent at 7,505.77 (close)

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.7 percent at 7,665.54 points (close)

Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.3 percent at 13,340.17 (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 5,529.15 (close)

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.5 percent at 3,647.52

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 23,631.88 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng: UP 1.5 percent at 33,154.12 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,558.13 (close)

Oil - Brent North Sea: UP 10 cents at $70.52 per barrel

Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP 63 cents at $66.14 per barrel