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US stock market closed at record level, helped by Japan’s surprise move to step up its stimulus measures.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1% to close at a record 17,390.52. The S&P 500 also closed at an all-time high to reach 2,018.05, up 1%.

European and Asian markets had recorded strong gains earlier.

The Bank of Japan surprised markets when it announced that it would increase its asset buying plan to 80 trillion yen ($726 billion) a year.

That was up from the previous rate of 60-70 trillion yen.

US stock market closed at record level, helped by Japan's surprise move to step up its stimulus measures

US stock market closed at record level, helped by Japan’s surprise move to step up its stimulus measures

“The Japanese central bank has taken the QE baton from the Fed and equity traders couldn’t be happier,” said David Madden, market analyst at IG.

Among individual shares, travel firm Expedia jumped more than 5% after it reported strong results for the third quarter.

Groupon soared 22% after the discount coupon firm reported third-quarter profits and revenue that beat expectations.

Starbucks shares fell 2.3% after the coffee chain’s sales in the Americas region fell short of forecasts.

Starbucks reported a 5% rise in underlying sales at its stores in the region, but analysts had expected growth of more than 6%.

On the currency markets, the dollar rose to a near seven-year high against the yen, rising above 112 yen to the dollar.

The stronger dollar helped to push the price of oil lower. US crude dipped below $80 a barrel, but recovered to end 46 cents lower at $80.66 a barrel.

Brent crude for December delivery fell 38 cents to $85.86 a barrel.

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Online retailer Alibaba Group has announced plans for a flotation in the US.

The Chinese e-commerce giant said the move will make it “a more global company”.

The move had been widely predicted by analysts, who expect it to be the biggest share offering by a tech firm since Facebook’s flotation in 2012.

They predict that the listing will raise up to $15 billion.

However, Alibaba did not reveal when the initial public offering (IPO) would take place or on which exchange.

The move is expected to benefit Yahoo, which owns a significant stake in Alibaba and could see the value of its investment rise considerably.

Alibaba Group has announced plans for US flotation

Alibaba Group has announced plans for US flotation

“Alibaba Group has decided to commence the process of an initial public offering in the United States,” the firm’s statement said.

“This will make us a more global company and enhance the company’s transparency, as well as allow the company to continue to pursue our long-term vision and ideals.”

The news comes two days after another Chinese tech giant, Twitter-like service Weibo, announced plans for a $500 million US listing.

Speculation about a New York listing for Alibaba began last September, when the company abandoned plans for a stock offering in Hong Kong after talks with regulators broke down.

Alibaba’s management structure, which allows senior executives to retain control of the board of directors, fell foul of Hong Kong’s listing rules.

Alibaba Group is already the world’s largest online retailer, with more than 500 million customers and more than 800 million product listings.