Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 surged 1.3% in afternoon trading to 28,716.68. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 1.1% to 6,840.50, and South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.7% to 3,107.88. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 0.8% to 29,337.67, while the Shanghai Composite gained 0.5% to 3,520.70.
The S&P 500 index rose 1.1% to 3,871.74. It was the index's fourth-straight gain. The Dow Jones industrial average picked up 1.1%, to 31,055.86. The technology-heavy Nasdaq gained 1.2%, to 13,777.74, also an all-time high. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks climbed 2%, to 2,202.42. Wall Street continues to be focused on company earnings. Shares of eBay rose 5.3% and PayPal climbed 7.4% after both companies reported results that beat Wall Street's expectations.
Now piss on my leg and tell me it's raining, ChinaTV.