Global shares shattered records and European stocks closed higher on Thursday, bolstered by upbeat data from the world's largest economies, while the euro hovered near a three-year high and the U.S. dollar fell against major currencies. MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe broke a new record, last gaining 0.83 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 161.5 points, or 0.65 percent, to 25,084.18, sailing past the 25,000-mark for the first time. The S&P 500 gained 13.82 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,726.88 and the Nasdaq Composite added 14.07 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,079.60, with both indexes hitting fresh highs. Separately, China's services sector activity hit its highest level in more than three years and manufacturing data from Japan came in strong. The euro zone's STOXX 50 had its best day since April 2017, closing up 1.68 percent. London's FTSE set a record on Thursday, up 0.32 percent, while Tokyo's Nikkei - Asia's biggest market - had earlier shot to its highest since 1992 and was up 3.26 percent. The euro rose 0.42 percent to $1.2063, while the dollar index was down 0.26 percent. The Japanese yen weakened 0.29 percent versus the greenback at 112.83 per dollar, while Sterling was last trading at $1.3541, up 0.20 percent on the day. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.4543 percent, from 2.445 percent late on Wednesday. Oil rose above $68 a barrel to its highest since May 2015 after unrest in Iran sparked concerns about supply risks. U.S. crude rose 0.68 percent to $62.05 per barrel and Brent was last at $68.01, up 0.25 percent on the day.
