Wall Street clocks up seventh day of gains

Stocks on Wall Street rose for a seventh day as stronger-than-expected January sales from McDonald's tumped another round of monetary tightening from China.

At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 71.52 points, or 0.6%, to 12,223.15. Its intraday high of 12,232 was the highest since June 2008.

McDonald's jumped 3.1% after same-store sales rose 5.3% in January from a year earlier, topping expectations on 3.1% growth in the US. In Europe, where revenue is bigger than the US, McDonald's sales were up 7%, well ahead of expectations.

The Nasdaq Composite was up 0.5% to 2797.05. The S&P 500 index added 0.4% to 1324.57, pulled up by consumer stocks.

Other markets: Europe up, Asia mixed
European stocks reached fresh multiyear highs, helped by upbeat earnings reports and led by gains in car makers including BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroën.

The broader Stoxx Europe 600 index, however, edged down 0.1% to 288.56, breaking a five-session winning streak. It rallied 1% on Monday to its highest closing value since September 2008.

The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 0.7% to 6091.33, its highest close since May 2008; France's CAC-40 index gained 0.4% to 4108.27, the highest finish since September 2008; and Germany's DAX added 0.5% to 7323.24, its best close since January 2008.

In Asia, Japanese and Australian stocks ended at their highest levels in several months on upbeat corporate earnings. Shares fell in Korea, Hong Kong and India on concerns about inflation and interest-rate increases.

The Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.4% to 10,635.98, taking the Japanese stock benchmark to its best closing level in more than nine months.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4% to 4890.36, stretching its winning streak to a fifth session and finishing at a level it hasn't seen since April.

Korea's Kospi fell 0.6% to 2069.70, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped 0.3% to 23,484.30, and India's Sensex shed 1.4% to 17,775.70, a seven-month low.

After the markets closed, China's central bank announced it would raise its key lending rates. Markets in China are set to reopen today after being shut for the Lunar New Year holidays.

Commodities: Oil down, gold up
Oil futures in New York eased despite talk of disruption to the Suez Canal. Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 20USc to $US87.29 a barrel. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange rose 56USc to $US99.81 a barrel.

Gold futures rallied to a three-week high. The most-actively traded contract, for April delivery, settled $US15.90, or 1.2%, higher at $US1364.10 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Euro up, pound down
The euro climbed against the US dollar as some risk appetite returned to the market.

The euro was at $US1.3670, from $1.3585 late on Monday. The dollar was at ¥81.87 from ¥82.30, while the euro was at ¥111.90 from ¥111.80.

†he UK pound was trading at $US1.6088 against the dollar, compared with $1.6108 late on Monday.

Egypt's central bank intervened in currency markets to strengthen the Egyptian pound. It had hit a six-year low against the US dollar as investors continue to flee Egyptian financial markets.