While you were sleeping: UPDATED Dow extends recent streak of gains

Wall Street remains at record highs as investors reassessed valuations while the US dollar declined.

"Optimism is a mile high but an inch deep,'' John Manley, chief equity strategist for Wells Fargo Funds Management in New York, told Bloomberg "People are being pulled into this stock market. They're worried it's gone up too fast.''

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 34.72 points, or 0.17% to 20,810.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index eked out a 0.99-point gain to 2363.81, Both touched fresh record highs earlier in the day.

However, the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.43% to 5835, weighed down by weakness in biotechnology stocks.

Nvidia shares sank 9.3% after analysts downgraded their ratings because of concern about its valuation and the outlook, while Intercept Pharmaceuticals fell 5.6%..

The Dow climbed to a record as gains in shares of Pfizer and those of Johnson & Johnson, each trading 1.3% higher, outweighed declines in shares of Caterpillar and those of Nike, down 2.4% and 0.5% respectively.

"What I like about this market is that [investors] seem to be a little more focused on fundamentals as opposed to looking at the volatility coming from politics," Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer at Charles Schwab Investment Management, told Reuters.

Tax reforms 'by August'
US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said he wants to see "very significant" tax reform passed before Congress' August recess. He made the comments in an interview with CNBC.

The latest US job data underpinned expectations that Federal Reserve policy makers might raise interest rates at their March meeting, even as minutes from the most recent meeting – released on Wednesday – suggested a more dovish stance.

A Labour Department report showed that initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 244,000 for the week ended February 18.

"All indications are that job creation remains solid, underscoring the resiliency of the nearly eight-year economic recovery," Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Michigan, told Reuters.

"A March hike cannot be ruled out."

In Europe, France's CAC 40 Index slipped 0.1%, while Germany's DAX Index fell 0.4% and the UK's FTSE 100 Index declined 0.4%.

Brexit forces Morgan Stanley move
Morgan Stanley may initially move 300 staff from the UK following the country's exit from the European Union and is scouting for office space in Frankfurt and Dublin, according to Bloomberg.

Eventually, the US bank will choose either Frankfurt or Dublin to base its enlarged EU hub, Bloomberg reported, citing three people with knowledge of the matter.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note edged lower to 2.388% from 2.416% on Wednesday.

Oil prices gave up some of their earlier gains as US government data showed a further build in crude stocks.

Benchmark Brent crude oil traded at $US56.65 after earlier touching $US57.26, while US light crude rose 1.6% to $US54.45 a barrel after reaching $US54.94 a barrel earlier in the day.

(BusinessDesk)