Global markets hit new highs on Tuesday as Asian shares surged after a new record close on Wall Street.
Markets in Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore hit record levels while Japan's Nikkei index also surged ahead above 17,000 points.
On Monday, the US Dow Jones closed at a record high, after weak economic data made an interest rate cut more likely.
Shares in banks were also boosted by the perception that the worst of the summer's credit problems may be over.
Both Citigroup and UBS gave indications of the amount that the upheaval in credit markets had cost them in the past three months, but were confident that business was now returning to normal.
Rate hopes
Money flowing from the Chinese mainland lifted Hong Kong's Hang Seng index a stunning 1,057.28 points, or 3.9% to 28,199.75, surpassing the 28,000-level for the first time.
Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index hit an all-time high, up 3.9% at 28,199.75, while Singapore's Straits Times Index also saw a record - for the fourth straight session.
Australian stocks closed up 1.5% as mining stocks pushed the market higher.
Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.2%, or 200.82 points, to finish at 17,046.78.
In the US on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 1.38%, or 191.92 points, at 14,087.55 - the first climb above 14,000 since mid-July.
The technology-based Nasdaq rose 39.49 points or 1.46% higher at 2,740.99.
Meanwhile, European markets also moved ahead, with London's FTSE 100 up 0.3%, Paris's Cac-40 climbing 0.6% and Frankfurt's Dax-30 index adding about 0.5% by 1410BST.
The rises came after a report showed that US manufacturing grew at its slowest pace for six months in September, raising expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates further.
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