Markets extend their gains

On Friday global equities extended their stellar start to 2018, with gauges from London to Tokyo rallying as the synchronized growth story continues to win over investors.

European shares were higher on Friday, with the British and Swiss benchmarks hitting records, propelled by optimism for a strengthening regional economy and gains in U.S. equities overnight.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was up 0.5 percent, holding at a two-month high, while euro zone blue chips . rose 0.9 percent, building on strong gains in the previous session.

The first trading week of the new year was shaping up to be the best for euro zone stocks since last May, as the index has shrugged off a strengthening of the single currency that can dampen export earnings.

U.S. jobs numbers on Thursday showed U.S. private employers added more jobs than expected in December, propelling the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI past the 25,000-mark for the first time. Investors were watching U.S. non-farm payrolls data due later on Friday.

Euro zone stocks were set for a weekly gain of 2.7 percent.

Markets outside of the euro zone saw several record levels broken. Switzerland’s blue chip index rose 0.4 percent to an alltime high, while Britain’s FTSE 100 jumped to another record. Financials drove gains in Europe on the day, with the banking index rising 0.6 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei share average extended the previous session’s gains on Friday, probing 26-year highs as banking and brokerage firms rose, while Toshiba stocks strengthened on news of a buyer for its Westinghouse Electric unit. The Nikkei was up 0.9 percent at 23,714.53, touching levels unseen since January 1992. Japan’s markets were closed for from Monday to Wednesday in the first week of the year. In the holidayshortened week, the Nikkei has risen 4.2 percent since opening on Thursday.