NEW YORK - US stock markets Thursday continued their bull run of 2013, closing at fresh records after a strong US unemployment report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 122.33 (0.75 per cent) to 16,479.88, finishing at a record high for the sixth straight session. The S&P 500, closing at a record high for the fourth straight session, added 8.70 (0.47 per cent) at 1,842.02. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index increased 11.76 (0.28 per cent) to 4,167.18. The latest record came after US Labor Department data showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell to 338,000 from an adjusted 380,000 the previous week. Analysts had projected that 350,000 claims would be filed. Other better-than-expected economic news in recent days has increased confidence in the US outlook after the Federal Reserve announced on December 18 it was scaling back its bond-buying program. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond hit 3.0 per cent earlier Thursday before retreating. Higher yields sometimes crimp enthusiasm for equities, but the recent rise has been gradual, said Michael Gayed, chief investment strategist at Pension Partners. "If you have a spike in yields, it is a negative," Gayed said. But as the yields are gradually going higher despite the Fed tapering, that means there is a growing sense of confidence that the stocks market does not need the Fed as much.. LONDON - European stock markets have risen in shortened trading sessions, as investors brushed aside news of shrinking growth in France. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index on Tuesday climbed 0.23 per cent to close at 6,694.17 points. In Paris, the CAC 40 added 0.07 per cent from Monday's closing value to end at 4,218.14 points. Frankfurt's DAX 30 was shut on Tuesday, a day after closing up 0.94 per cent at a record-high 9,488.82 points. The one notable official data release from Europe on Tuesday showed that France's economy contracted 0.1 per cent in the third quarter. Statistics body INSEE though indicated that the eurozone country should dodge recession by growing at the end of 2013. Businesses were meanwhile being affected on Tuesday by storms across Britain and France. All major European market were closed on Wednesday and Thursday for Christmas period public holidays. HONG KONG - Asian shares are mostly higher with Tokyo extending its six-year high reached the previous day following a record close on Wall Street in pre-holiday trade. The Nikkei index closed above the psychologically important 16,000 point level on Wednesday, backed by a weaker yen and US stocks reaching a new all-time high before the Christmas break. Tokyo rose 0.91 per cent by the break on Thursday, Seoul was up 0.18 per cent, while shares in China were down 0.96 per cent. Financial markets in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand were closed for a public holiday. "I believe (Japanese shares) will have another stellar year - though not without volatility," said Sydney-based Nader Naeimi, who manages a $US100 million ($A112.18 million) fund at AMP Capital Investors, one of Australia's two biggest asset managers. "I'll be buying into any weakness," Naeimi told Dow Jones Newswires.. In Sydney, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Tuesday rose 35.3 points to 5,327.2 points. The broader All Ordinaries index was up 33.9 points to 5,325.4 points. WELLINGTON - The NZX 50 rose 45.30 points, or about one per cent, to 4767.935 in the shortened pre-Christmas session. Within the index, 35 stocks rose, four fell and 11 were unchanged. Turnover was a modest $34 million.