A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from

Gregor Stuart Hunter

Global stocks were at record highs on Wednesday as some of

Asia's biggest markets returned from a holiday in euphoric mood

and resumed ramping up AI-related trades.

A rally in semiconductor shares sent South Korea's benchmark

KOSPI index above 7,000 points in a historic first as the Seoul

market reopened, with Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ) up 13% and

breaking the $1 trillion market-cap barrier. Having recently

overtaken Berkshire Hathaway, the electronics giant is now

closing in on Walmart.

Oil prices tumbled for a second day after U.S. President Donald

Trump said on Tuesday he would pause an operation to help escort

ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing "great progress"

toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran.

Chinese stocks hit their highest since January 2022 as

trading resumed, after a private gauge of the services sector

showed activity expanded at a faster pace in April, helped by

stronger growth in new business. Japanese markets remained

closed for a holiday.

MSCI's All-Country World Index hit a record

high, as did its Emerging Markets benchmark and its

broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

.

Risk-sensitive currencies surged, with the Australian dollar

rising 0.7% to an almost four-year high of $0.72400 and

its New Zealand counterpart rose 0.9% to $0.59380, its strongest

in almost two months.

In early European trades, pan-region futures were

up 0.6%, German DAX futures were up 0.4% and FTSE

futures were up 1%.

Key developments that could influence markets on Wednesday:

* Company earnings: Arm Holdings, Novo Nordisk

, Walt Disney ( DIS ), Uber ( UBER ), Equinor ( EQNR )

, Apollo Global Management ( APO ), CVS Health ( CVS ),

Infineon, BMW, Telecom Italia

* French data: Industrial Output for March, HCOB Services

PMI for April

* German data: HCOB Services PMI for April

* UK data: S&P Global Service PMI for April, Total Reserve

Assets for April

* German 7-year government debt auction

* UK 9-year government debt auction