Stimulus-Fed Rally Back On as Global Stocks Top $70 Trillion

Stocks rose in the U.S. this week while they soared in Europe and Asia, eclipsing milestones from Hong Kong to Frankfurt as central bank stimulus pushed the value of global equities above $70 trillion.

With cash coursing in from mainland China, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rallied 7.9 percent, the most since 2011. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average briefly topped 20,000 for the first time in 15 years, while the Stoxx Europe 600 Index eclipsed a record that stood since 2000. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 1.7 percent to pull within 1 percent of an all-time high.