(Updated for close) Stocks on Wall Street rallied across the board, pushing the Dow up 214 points and the S&P 500 into positive territory for the year as bullish sentiment about the economic recovery gathers hold.

The government reported that US construction spending rose for the first time in six months during March as stimulus spending kicked in, while pending sales of existing homes rose 3.2% for the month.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 214.33 points higher, or 2.6%, to 8at 8426.74. The S&P 500 surged 3.4% to 907.23, helped by gains in all its sectors.

The rally continued strong gains in April, when all world sharemarkets rose strongly. The Dow Jones World Index rose 12% in US dollar terms, its largest monthly jump since its inception in 1991.

In the US, the Dow ended up 7.4% for the best two months since the start of the last bull market in 2002. The S&P 500 rose 9.4% for the month, its best April since 1938.

Canadian stocks rose to an almost six- month high, led by raw-materials producers, as China’s manufacturing expanded and US home sales topped estimates.

Barrick Gold, the world’s largest producer, gained 4.1% and EnCana, Canada’s biggest energy company, gained 3.9%.

Research In Motion advanced 2.9% after the maker of the BlackBerry phone was added to the “conviction buy list” at Goldman Sachs.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index has added 277.42 points, or 2.9%, to 9774.42.

European stocks advanced with steel makers ArcelorMittal and ThyssenKrupp surging more than 8%. Fiat soared 8.1% after unveiling plans to create Europe’s largest car group by purchasing GM Europe to add to its new stake in Chrysler.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index advanced 1.8% to 203.77, extending this year’s gain to 2.7%. The measure has risen 29% since March 9, this year’s sharemarket low.

National benchmark indexes advanced in all 16 western European markets that were open, except Iceland. The UK and Irish stock markets were closed for a holiday.

Germany’s DAX added 2.8% to 4902.45 while France’s CAC 40 increased 2.5% to 3237.97.

Commodities: Oil, gold up

Crude oil rose to a five-week high as US home sales jumped along with spending on construction projects.

Prices for June delivery rose $US1.27, or 2.4%, to $US54.47 a barrel in New York. Futures touched $US54.55, the highest since March 26. Oil is up 22% this year.

Gold futures climbed in New York for the first time in three sessions on surging demand. June delivery prices jumped $US16.40, or 1.8%, to $US904.60 an ounce in New York. That is the biggest gain for a most-active contract since April 20. The price fell 2.8% last week, the most since the first week in April.

Currencies: Yen, dollar decline

The yen declined to the lowest level in almost three weeks versus the euro while the dollar dropped as investors sought higher-yielding assets.

Australia’s dollar and the South African rand rose to the highest level versus the greenback since October.

The yen slid 0.7% to ¥132.46 per euro and touched ¥132.88, the weakest level since April 14. The yen traded at ¥98.96 per dollar, which declined 0.9% to $US1.3395 per euro.