Dow Jones

The Dow Jones index broke through the 15,000 point threshold for the first time ever on Tuesday.

Markets across the US closed up overnight as the more optimistic mood prevailed, while gold continued to recover from its recent savage fall.

Markets in the US and Asia moved lower overnight as expectations of a weak update from Apple hit technology shares, while tumbling commodity prices impacted mining stocks.

UK stock markets and their European counterparts continued to sell-off today as ongoing worries about global growth and a sharp fall in the US overnight weighed on sentiment.

The US' three major equity markets dropped overnight after a bomb blast at the Boston Marathon shook markets and weak data from China continued to weigh on stocks.

Asian markets rebounded strongly overnight, recovering from their worst one day falls since last July, as eurozone contagion fears receded following Cyprus' controversial bailout package.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average - one of the two most quoted indices in the US - has hit a record high above 14,200 points, surpassing its 2007 peak.

The UK's blue chip index is trading back near a five-year high this morning after a near 1% gain, as a bumper set of results lift shares.

US shares fell for the second day running overnight as investors continued to take profits after the recent run-up to multi-year highs.

The FTSE 100 tumbled nearly 2% in morning trading after the US Federal Reserve spooked markets yesterday by warning it may slow its asset purchase programme.