The Nasdaq composite index had its first close above 1,900 in 18 months today and the Dow Jones industrials and Standard & Poor’s 500 index reached new 15-month highs as US stocks surged.

New York Stock Exchange chairman Dick Grasso has resigned amid rising fury over his $139.5m (€124m) pay package, his 36-year career ruined by cries that he made too much money running the world’s richest financial market.