Stocks gain on Wall Street
MARKET CLOSE: The Dow rose to its highest since May 2008 after clawing back earlier losses.
MARKET CLOSE: The Dow rose to its highest since May 2008 after clawing back earlier losses.
Stocks on Wall Street edged forward, regaining early losses, as investors continued to focus on continuing discussions over a Greek debt-restructuring deal.
At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 5.75 points, or less than 0.1%, to 12,883.95, its highest level since May 19, 2008.
The S&P 500 index finished at 1349.96, a rise of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.4% to 2915.86.
Energy stocks dragged the broader market lower as crude-oil prices sharply pared back from their morning gains.
Exxon Mobil fell 0.6%. Financial and technology stocks offset some of the declines. Bank of America gained 3.6% to lead the Dow components, while Hewlett-Packard rose 1.8%.
Other markets: Europe down, Asia up
European markets saw modest gains evaporate into the closing bell on concerns that the European Central Bank hadn't yet decided on whether it would contribute to a Greek debt restructuring deal.
The Stoxx Europe 600 finished with a slight decline of 0.2% to 263.01.
The UK’s FTSE 100 index closed 0.2% lower at 5875.93, Germany’s DAX 30 settled 0.1% lower at 6748.76 and France’s CAC 40 index 0.1% to 3410.00.
Asian markets rose on progress toward a debt-restructuring deal in Greece, while an upbeat earnings outlook from Toyota Motor aided car makers in Tokyo.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average advanced 1.1% to 9015.59, it highest close in more than three months.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.5% to 21,018.46, its highest closing level in six months. Korea's Kospi rose 1.1% to 2003.73, its highest close in more than six months.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4% to 4290.7, while China's Shanghai Composite gained 2.4% to 2347.53. India's Sensex rose 0.5% to 17,707.32.
Commodities: Oil up, gold down
Oil futures pared their gains after a government report showed US oil inventories rising slightly while demand weakened.
Light, sweet crude oil futures for March delivery settled 30US, or 1.5%, up at $US99.84 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange, rose $1.16, or 0.1%, to $US117.39 a barrel.
Gold futures traded lower after a strong performance a day earlier and as the euro slipped from its highs, pushing the US dollar marginally higher against major currencies.
Gold for April delivery settled $US17.10, or 1%, lower at $US1731.30 an ounce in New York. Earlier, it traded as high as $US1754.80 and as low as $US1729.10.
Currencies: Euro rises
The US dollar turned down, pushing the euro back towards a two-month high as news reports challenged hopes that the European Central Bank may be the clinch to an agreement on a second bailout for Greece.
The euro rose to $US1.3273, off a two-month high of $US1.3288 and from $US1.3256 on Tuesday.
The UK pound slipped to $US1.5825 from $US1.5901. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to ¥77, from ¥76.79 late on Tuesday.
The Australian dollar rose to its highest level since August then drifted back to $US1.0795 from $US1.0799 on Tuesday, when it jumped after the Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly kept its key cash rate on hold.