Wall Street companies rallied on a revived optimism about US-China trade talks late Monday, with the S&P 500 hitting a new record high, while the British pound firmed against the US greenback.
New York market analysts were also boosted by hopes that Wednesday's Federal Reserve would aim to cut interest rates more.
US President Donald Trump expressed his belief that Washington and Beijing are heading towards a "step one" trade deal which he plans to sign on the margins of the mid-November APEC Summit in Santiago.
"The market seems to suggest that the world economy should balance around central bank stimulus and the moves toward a trade deal to keep tariffs from increasing," LBBW's Karl Haeling said. "There has been a great fear of a contraction this season."
Earnings were better than expected to contribute to the momentum, analysts said.
According to Factset, businesses in the S&P 500 are on pace to see a 3.7 percent fall from year-ago rates in the third quarter, but 80 percent posted higher earnings per share than anticipated.
Large technology companies were much higher, with the parent Alphabet of Apple, Amazon, Facebook, and Google all adding about one percent or more.
Space tourism firm Virgin Galactic made an industry appearance, beginning to rise but finishing the day slightly lower, falling 0.34 percent.
Tiffany bounced back 31.6 percent higher after the jeweler confirmed it had received LVMH's proposition that will value the company at $14.5 billion.
The EU states agreed early Monday to postpone Brexit for up to three months, taking a decision less than 90 hours before Britain crashed without a separate deal.
The new deadline is now January 31- although the EU would permit an earlier date if a withdrawal agreement was approved by London faster. Despite supporting the pound with the news, its losses are small.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wanted to call a December snap general election with a proposal to convince parliamentarians to support his deal before then- but the move was rejected by lawmakers.
Brexit risks affect HSBC's prospects, the Global banking company said Monday, as it reported a drop in profits in the third quarter.
On one level, the lender's shares fell more than four-fold, rendering them the highest loser on the FTSE 100 list, but they gained a few pennies in late trading.
Stock markets in Asian shares soared after China and the US said they were close to a mini trade deal.
