The American stock exchanges closed the marvellous first trading month in 2019 predominantly in style, supported by enthusiastically received results from Facebook and General Electric.

In particular, the Nasdaq technology exchange continued its advance and rose almost 10% on a monthly basis to 7281 points. The Dow Jones index remained close to home, but on balance gained 7% in January at 25008 points.

Social media company Facebook stole the show on Thursday with a price jump of 10.8% after well received results. Industrial conglomerate General Electric was also hugely embraced and sprinted 11.4% ahead in response to black figures. Tesla dropped 0.6% after the manufacturer of electric cars did not meet expectations.