Investing.com - Global stock markets rose to their highest ever levels on Tuesday as a wave of relief over the first-round French presidential election results continued to sweep through equity markets.
Centrist former economy minister Emmanuel Macron won the first round of French presidential elections on Sunday, delivering a result that most investors were hoping for.
Polls, which were largely accurate in predicting the first round result, have indicated that Macron will comfortably beat euro skeptic nationalist Marine Le Pen in the runoff vote on May 7 easing fears over a possible French exit from the euro zone.
The MSCI World Index, a gauge of global stocks, hit an all-time high for the second straight session.
Shares in Asia rose to almost two-year highs overnight, with Japan’s Nikkei gaining more than 1% to hit a three-week high.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.18% while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1% after posting the worst day of 2017 so far on Monday.
India’s main stock index, the NSE Nifty, also hit an all-time high on Tuesday.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX hit all-time high for the second consecutive session, while France’s CAC 40 was steady a day after it rallied 4% to a nine year high.
In the UK, the FTSE 100 was up 0.23%. The FTSE posted its biggest daily gain since September on Monday, climbing 2.11%.