Wall St rally continues

Stocks on Wall Street surged for a second day on reports of progress in European leaders' Greek-debt negotiations and US buoyant housing data.

US home prices rose in April from a month earlier, the first increase in eight months, though they are lower compared with a year earlier.

The Conference Board's consumer-confidence reading fell slightly in June versus May, undershooting expectations.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 145.13 points, or 1.2%, to close at 12,188.69 (8am NZ time) . Caterpillar rose 3% and Home Depot 2.4%.

The S&P 500 index gained 1.3%, to 1296.68 and the technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite was up 1.5%, to 2729.31.

Other markets: Greece hopes lift Europe, Asia
European stocks rose, buoyed by increased optimism that a solution will be found to Greece's debt problems.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.5% to close at 265.23, and Athens's ASE index jumped 2.7% to 1258.84.

The UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.8% to 5766.88, its third consecutive gain. Germany's DAX gained 0.9% to 7170.43 and France's CAC-40 climbed 1.5% to 3851.89.

Japanese and Australian stocks led a broad advance in Asian markets on optimism that Greece can avert a disorderly default on its national debt.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.7% to 9648.98, leaving it down 0.5% for June. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 tacked on 0.3% to 4474.30.

In China, the Shanghai Composite inched up less than 0.1% to 2759.20 for a sixth straight advance on a late rally, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index edged forward 0.1% to 22,061.78.

But in Seoul, the Kospi turned lower late to end 0.4% lower at 2062.91. India's Sensex rose 0.4% to 18,492.45 and Taiwan's Taiex slipped 0.3% to 8478.86.

Commodities: Weak dollar boosts oil, gold rises above $US1500
Oil futures rebounded from four-month lows, boosted by a weaker dollar.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose 88USc, or 1%, to $US91.49 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange gained $US2.11, or 2%, to $US108.10 a barrel.

Gold futures edged back above $US1500 an ounce but showed little decisive direction.

The most actively traded contract, for August delivery, was up $US3.70, or 0.3%, at $US1500.10 an ounce in New York. The front-month June contract was up $US6.10, or 0.4%, to $US1502.10.

Currencies: Bailout hopes boost euro
Hopes of progress in the euro-zone bailout negotiations with Greece and some optimism about Greece's upcoming austerity package vote gave the euro a boost against the US dollar.

The euro nearly reached $US1.44, before paring gains to $US1.4355 compared with $US1.4286 late on Monday. The euro also advanced against the Japanese yen, rising about 0.4%.

The dollar fell to a record low against the Swiss franc, which benefited from a rise in European currencies. The dollar was 0.8276 franc from 0.8302 franc.

The dollar was at ¥80.97 from ¥80.90 and the UK pound traded at $US1.6001 from $US1.5991.