Stock markets struck fresh records on Friday, driven by investor optimism over artificial intelligence and US rate-cut hopes, which overshadowed concerns about a government shutdown dragging on.

Wall Street's main indices pushed higher, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite setting new all-time highs.

While the gains have been incremental, "what counts is that there still isn't any convincing show of selling force", said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

In Europe, London's FTSE 100 set an all-time high, led by banks and mining stocks. In Paris the CAC 40 also rose and was close to its March peak, while the DAX 40 dipped in Frankfurt but nevertheless remains close to its record level.

The rally in tech stocks was given another lift on Friday by an agreement between Japan's Hi

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