European stock markets charged higher again on Tuesday, closing at a fresh one-year high after upbeat Chinese and U.S. manufacturing data fueled optimism over economic growth in the world's two largest economies.

U.S. stocks closed up Tuesday below their highs for the first trading session of 2017 as oil prices dropped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.60% rose 119.16 points, or 0.6%, to finish at 19,881.76, led higher by shares of Nike Inc. NKE, +2.26% and Verizon Communications Inc. VZ, +2.25% The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.85% closed up 19.00 points, or 0.9%, at 2,257.83, with the telecom and health care sectors the strongest performers.

Japanese equities kicked off the new year sharply higher on Wednesday, leading the region's gains amid a robust outlook for the U.S. economy, coupled with expectations of continued yen weakness.