Stocks rise on Wall Street

Stocks on Wall Street have remained firm after turning positive in early trading, even as Greece delayed action on austerity measures to address its debt crisis.

Talks between Greece and its creditors on a loan deal appeared to be nearing a conclusion, though political leaders postponed a meeting later in the day to discuss the plans.

A new fiscal pact is necessary for Greece to receive the next round of bailout funds.

At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 33.07 points, or 0.3%, to 12,878.20.

The S&P 500 index was up 0.2% to 1347.05 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.1%, to 2904.08.

Seven of the S&P's 10 sectors were higher, led by utilities and consumer-discretionary stocks.

McDonald's was the largest gainer on the Dow, up 1.4%, while Coca-Cola rose 1% after reporting fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded estimates.

European markets were slightly lower, with investors reluctant to make any bold moves until there is some clarity on Greece's debt restructuring and austerity talks.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.3% at 263.55. London's FTSE 100 Index was down 0.3% at 5875.83, Frankfurt's DAX was 0.6% lower at 6721.48 and Paris' CAC-40 Index was down 0.3% at 3394.17.

Asian markets were mostly lower, led by a 1.7% drop in China's Shanghai Composite to 2291.90, its first loss in four sessions.

Australian shares fell after the Reserve Bank of Australia left its policy rate unchanged at 4.25% amid widespread expectations of a 0.25-percentage-point cut. The S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.5% lower at 4274.2.

In Mumbai, the Sensex fell 0.5% to 17,622.45, snapping a five-session winning streak after the Indian government cut its economic growth forecast for a second time to 6.9%, the weakest in three years.

Both Japan's Nikkei Stock Average and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased 0.1%, to 8917.52 and 20699.19, respectively.

Bucking the broad trend, Korea's Kospi rose 0.4% to 1981.59 and Taiwan's Taiex added 0.3% to 7707.44.

Commodities: Oil, gold up
Benchmark crude prices reversed their earlier losses as investors took profits.

The spread between US benchmark crude oil futures and North Sea Brent crude, which climbed above $US20 a barrel earlier in the day, sank back to near $US17.75 a barrel.

March light, sweet crude oil in New York gained $US1.50 a barrel, or 1.6% to $US98.41. ICE March Brent was 89USc higher, at $US116.82 a barrel.

Gold futures broke off a two-day losing streak, rising on a lower dollar after Greece reportedly neared a deal over its debts.

Gold for April delivery rose $US23.50, or 1.4%, to settle at $US1748.40 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Euro gains against US dollar
The euro rose nearly 1% against the dollar to $US1.3270, its highest since December 12, amid market expectations of a settlement in Greece.

The euro traded at $US1.3249 from $US1.3131 late on Monday. Against the yen, the euro bought ¥101.91, up 1.3% on the day.

Meanwhile, the US dollar traded at ¥76.77 from ¥76.55. The UK pound bought $US1.5893 compared with $US1.5825, while the dollar traded at 0.9126 Swiss franc from 0.9185 franc.