Another record expected for the Nasdaq

Analysts expect the Nasdaq Composite to break out another record today (April 24th), with the Futures for the Nasdaq up 0.6 per cent to 4,507.75 in pre-market trading.

Amazon shares soared 10 per cent to $429.50 (£283.47) in pre-market trading after the company's revenue came in above estimates, while Google gained four per cent to $580 after reporting higher quarterly revenue and profit.

Companies scheduled to report results today include American Airlines, Xerox and Interpublic. The Nasdaq ended 0.4 per cent up yesterday to its highest ever finish at 5,056.06,beating the March 10th, 2000 record, when the IT bubble was peaking. The strong performance is believed by analysts to be the result of higher oil prices and a weaker dollar.

European markets also on a high

Guillaume Duchesne, equity strategist at BGL BNP Paribas in Luxembourg, said at the moment investors are gravitating towards stocks that are a play on stable growth, and information technology is one key part of this.

"The situation is quite different from 15 years ago during the IT bubble. Growth evolution is really positive for IT stocks, because you have some good ideas and good evolution related to big data and cloud computing," he told MarketWatch, adding that the sector remains a “high-quality safe haven” and valuations aren’t very lofty, which is a big incentive for investors.

European markets also hit new highs today – with the MSCI All-Country World index hit a lifetime high of 441.1 points – thanks to positive corporate updates in Europe on the back of a weak euro and an improved economy. 

Trading sentiment was also boosted after some progresses were made between Greece and its international creditors, with Athens offering concessions on some key reforms in exchange for new funding.