French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron sent a wave of relief through global markets in April after gliding through the first round of voting in the French election, raising the chances of him beating far right leader Marine Le Pen. Banking stocks in particular rose on the expectation of business-friendly policies from the potential new leader.
And although the possibility that Madame Le Pen may still win is keeping a lid on European gains, the result of the first round of the French election and prospect of tax reform propelled US indices upwards. The US market is also being powered by investors flooding back into technology stocks amid a bumper crop of results from this sector.
Investors are also betting on a profit boost to tech stocks from US tax reforms proposed by President Trump.