Dow Jones reaches new all-time high

Major stock market index the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved past the 14,000 mark for the first time today.

Stocks on Wall Street hit the record level after better-than-expected profit reports from US corporate heavyweights Coca-Cola and Merrill Lynch.

The landmark comes just 57 trading days after the Dow, which tracks 30 of the top US stocks, breached 13,000.

The FTSE 100 Index is currently near a seven-year high, although stocks were under pressure today after stronger-than-expected inflation figures raised the chance of a further rise in UK interest rates.

The Footsie is 4% lower than its all-time peak of 6930 on December 30, 1999.

US shares have continued to rise despite a slowdown in the country’s housing market.

Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers, said: “The US is firing on all cylinders because of the combination of strong corporate earnings and the impact of high oil prices on energy stocks. There had been fears that earnings would start to disappoint, but that hasn't happened so far.

“In the UK, we’ve got a busy month of results coming up, which could give the market a chance to play catch up.”