Greece hopes push Wall St higher

Stocks on Wall Street rose for a third day rose as investors bet Greece will take the appropriate actions toward averting a sovereign-debt default.

The optimism overshadowed US housing data, which showed sales of existing homes fell last month to the lowest level in six months.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 109.63 points, or 0.9%, at 12,190.01 at the close (8am NZ time). The S&P 500 index jumped 1.3% to 1295.52. Economically sensitive sectors such as materials, tech and energy led the gains.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.2% to 2687.26.

Other markets: Europe, Asia rise
Energy, resources, industrial and material stocks all led European markets higher as expectations rose Greece’s government will survive a no-confidence vote in parliament, paving the way for a further EU and IMF bailout.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was 0.6% higher at 267.46. London's FTSE 100 index added 0.7% to hit 5733.85, Frankfurt's DAX was also 0.7% higher at 7204.23 and Paris' CAC-40 index gained 1% to the 3839.23.

Australian shares recorded the strongest advance in four weeks, as rising oil prices lifted commodities-linked companies and a $A10 billion takeover bid for the brewer Foster's Group by SABMiller boosted local sentiment.

Foster's rose 14% to $A5.14 after rejecting a $A4.90-a-share bid from SABMiller that it said "significantly" undervalued the Australian brewer. SABMiller, of London, said it would continue to "seek engagement" with Foster's. Treasury Wine Estates, which recently demerged from Foster's, rose 4.2% to $A3.45.

The 1.3% rise in the S&P/ASX 200 index, to 4508.20, trailed only the 1.4% advance by Korea's Kospi, to 2048.17, as markets around Asia surged.

The Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.1% to 9459.66, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.2% to 21,850.59, the Shanghai Composite climbed 1% to 2646.48 and India's Sensex rose 0.3% to 17,560.30.

Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude-oil futures prices climbed on expectations that the Greek government will survive a vote of confidence.

Light, sweet crude oil for July delivery was 91USc higher at $9US4.17 a barrel in New York. The August contract was 94USc higher at $US94.57 a barrel. ICE August Brent crude was 58USc higher at $US112.27 a barrel.

July crude hit a four-month low of $US91.14 a barrel on Monday, which could be the short-term bottom, traders said.

Gold prices pressed higher. The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, was up $US2.30, or 0.2%, at $US1544.30 an ounce in New York.

June-delivery gold was up $US3.90, or 0.3%, at $US1545.40 an ounce.

Currencies: Euro rises
The euro was at $1.4405, up from $1.4303 late on Monday in New York, as fears eased over a Greek default.

The US dollar was at ¥80.095, down from ¥80.26, and the UK pound was at $US1.6229, up from $1.6202.

The euro bought ¥115.34 from ¥114.7916 and the dollar was at 0.8421 Swiss franc from 0.8462 franc.