Dow breaks through 20,000 in New York for first time

Corporate earnings are offering relief after traders began to unwind a rally in the dollar and equities amid concern that post-US election gains had gone too far.

"The rally shows that markets have a degree of resilience" to political risks including elections in France and Germany and Britain's departure from the European Union, said Andrzej Pioch, a fund manager with Legal & General Investment Management in London. "Attention is turning to data and away from politics."

On this side of the Atlantic, the Iseq was up 1.2 per cent in mid-afternoon trading, while the FTSE 100 added 0.5 per cent and the pan-European Stoxx 600 index advanced by 1.2 per cent. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg)