US stocks soar on Microsoft-Skype deal

Stocks on Wall Street made more solid gains as investors drew encouragement from Microsoft's $US8.5 billion deal for Skype Technologies and from signs of strength in the US economy and overseas.

US wholesalers stockpiled goods in March as sales rose strongly, suggesting some improvement in an economy that slowed early this year. China's April trade surplus also outstripped expectations.

Microsoft's deal for Skype boosted hopes for further consolidation among technology companies.

At the close (8am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 75.68 points, or 0.6%, to 12,760.36, led by Cisco, which rose 1.9%.

The S&P 500 index jumped 0.8% to 1357.16, with utilities and consumer-discretionary stocks in the lead. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.0% to 2871.89.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
Resource stocks in Europe climbed on strong trade data from China while hopes for a deal over Greek debt lifted financial stocks. The biggest gains were for lenders seen as having the most exposure to Greece.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.9% to settle at 282.92, more than recovering from Monday's losses, when Standard & Poor's downgraded Greece's credit rating. Tuesday’s rise was only the second in seven sessions.

The UK's FTSE 100 index climbed 1.3% to 6018.89, France's CAC-40 index ended up 1.1% at 4052.51 and Germany's DAX gained 1.2% to 7501.52.

Most Asian markets rose, with Chinese shares climbing amid hopes coming monthly inflation data might show a moderation. The Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6% to 2890.63,

Japanese stocks gaining on some upbeat results. The Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.2% to 9818.76,

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% to 4725.8, while India's Sensex slipped 0.1% 18,512.77. Korean and Hong Kong markets were shut for public holidays.

Commodities: Oil, gold rise
Crude futures rebounded, led by a surge in gasoline futures after a report that the Mississippi River floods are curtailing refinery operations.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled $US1.33, or 1.3%, higher at $US103.88 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $US1.73c, or 1.5%, higher at $US117.63 a barrel.

Fresh worries about Europe's sovereign debt propelled gold and silver prices. The gold contract for May delivery settled up $US13.70, or 0.9%, at $US1516.60 an ounce. The silver contract for May delivery ended up $US1.37, or 3.7%, at $US38.48 an ounce.

Currencies: Euro on rollercoaster
The euro seesawed against the US dollar as traders remained cautious about a possible restructuring of Greek debt.

The euro rose to near-even against the dollar after having spent much of the global session in negative territory. The euro was at $US1.4354 from $US1.4352 late on Monday.

The dollar was at ¥80.74 compared with ¥80.20, while the euro was at ¥115.89 compared with ¥115.33. Meanwhile, the pound was trading at $US1.6324 from $US1.6393.