Dow surges through 25K milestone

Major US equity indices witnessed yet another strong opening on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average breaking through the 25K milestone immediately after the opening bell.

The strong bullish momentum to psychologically significant level, which otherwise holds no fundamental or technical importance, comes amid increasing confidence over an array of pro-growth fiscal stimulus measures proposed by the US President Donald Trump's administration. 

Today's strong US private sector employment details added to investors’ optimism and further contributed to early strong gains. The ADP report, released this Thursday, showed private employers added 250K jobs in December, marking its biggest rise since March 2017 and much better than consensus estimates pointing to 190K jobs. 

Investors now look forward to Friday's more comprehensive non-farm payrolls report, which would reaffirm the underlying strength in the US labor market and reinforce the Fed's view for gradual monetary policy tightening through 2018.

Meanwhile, the ongoing bullish run-up in crude oil prices, led by anti-government protests in Iran, lifted energy stocks and further contributed to early strong gains. Moreover, continuously drop in volatility (VIX) remained supportive of the steady appreciating move in equity markets.