Nasdaq, S&P 500 tally intraday record highs in the U.S. as world stocks climb for ninth day

NEW YORK, U.S. - On Wednesday, world stocks climbed for a ninth straight session as the earnings season heated up in the U.S. and Europe.

The dollar bounced modestly off 10-month lows and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq tallied intraday record highs in the U.S.

The boost was triggered by strong performances by major European stock indexes, and the tech sector in both regions.

MSCI's world stocks index looked set for a ninth day of gains following decent gains in Asia and positive signs from global economic powerhouse China specifically.

This would mark its longest winning streak since October 2015. 

Meanwhile, the global index gained 0.40 percent, setting a record high for a fifth straight session.

Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland, “In the U.S., the earnings season seems to be surprising a little bit on the upside. What we have seen recently in the economic reports suggests it should be even better overseas ... So we have come to the point where things looks pretty good in the U.S. and it looks even better in prospect overseas, so what’s not to like about equities."

Further, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31.38 points, or 0.15 percent, to 21,606.11.

The S&P 500 gained 9.59 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,470.2.

The Nasdaq Composite added 40.18 points, or 0.63 percent, to 6,384.49.

Morgan Stanley shares climbed 2.4 percent after the bank's profit report.

Biotech Vertex too soared 20.8 percent after stunning cystic fibrosis drug data.

Meanwhile, IBM shares dropped 4.3 percent following the release of its report.

According to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, S&P 500 earnings, following a week into the heart of second-quarter reporting season, are now expected to rise 8.7 percent, up from an expectation of an 8 percent rise from the start of July.

In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.71 percent. 

Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML's shares gained 5.8 percent after the firm's quarterly report.

It boosted the region's tech sector .SX8P to its biggest daily percentage gain since September.

Dafydd Davies, partner at Charles Hanover Investments said, “We would like to see those stronger earnings coming through and Europe really turning a corner.”

Analysts noted that the dollar edged higher against a basket of currencies, a day after the greenback's sharp decline sparked by a fresh setback to President Donald Trump's domestic agenda.

The dollar index .DXY rose 0.16 percent, with the euro dropping 0.27 percent to $1.1521.

Ahead of the European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan meetings this week, investors remained wary of pushing the U.S. currency lower. 

Meanwhile, before Thursday's ECB meeting, U.S. Treasury yields were little changed.

Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 3/32 in price to yield 2.2713 percent, from 2.263 percent late on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose after a U.S. report showed a bigger weekly draw than forecast in crude and gasoline stocks along with a surprise drop in distillate inventories.

U.S. crude rose 1.31 percent to $47.01 per barrel.

Brent was last at $49.53, up 1.41 percent on the day.