Wall Street rises as deals proliferate

Stocks on Wall Street climbed, boosted by a stream of deals, corporate earnings and relief as some economic activity resumed in Egypt.

At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 69.48 points, or 0.6%, to 12,1761.63. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.5% to 2783.99 and the S&P 500 index was up 0.6% to 1319.05, buoyed by its financial sector.

Loews jumped 3.8% after fourth-quarter profit rose 16%, as its CNA Financial insurance unit's earnings surged 23% and it reinstated its quarterly dividend. Among Dow components, American Express gained 2.6%, Bank of America climbed 3.0% and JP Morgan Chase rose 2.2%.

However, shares of AOL slid 3.2% after it disclosed plans to acquire privately-held online news website Huffington Post for $US315 million.

Chesapeake Energy rose 6% after saying it would sell its Fayetteville shale assets and equity stakes in Frac Tech Holdings and Chaparral Energy for around $US5 billion.

Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway said it planned to buy the remaining 19.9% of Wesco Financial shares it doesn't already own, sending Berkshire class B shares of Berkshire up 0.6%. Wesco Financial gained 1.5%.

Eric Watson-linked American Apparel rose 4.3% after appointing former Old Navy chief financial officer John Luttrell as its CFO.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks were higher as investors focused on the positive side of Friday's US employment report.

London's FTSE 100 Index was up 0.9% at 6051.03, Frankfurt's DAX rose 0.9% to 7283.62 and in Paris the CAC-40 Index was up 1.1% at 4090.80.

Japanese shares rose as exporters got a lift from a weakened yen, while energy producers such as PetroChina pressured Hong Kong stocks as crude-oil prices dipped.

The Nikkei Stock Average and Korea's Kospi each rose 0.5% to 10,592.04 and 2081.74 respectively.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 inched up 0.1% to 4868.55, with gains capped by profit warnings and weak retail-sales data. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.5% to 23,553.59.

Commodities: Oil down, gold up
Oil futures slid as the US dollar strengthened and the political turmoil in Egypt showed signs of easing.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery fell 39USc, or 0.4%, to $US88.64 a barrel inNew York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange gained 36USc, or 0.4%, to $US100.19 a barrel.

Gold futures rose modestly on forecasts for continued gains in prices. The most actively traded contract, for April delivery, was up $US1.40 at $US1350.40 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Euro down, dollar up
The euro extended its fall against the US dollar into a new week after a downbeat German economic report and disappointment over the lack of new plans to support weaker members of the 17-nation bloc.

The euro tumbled to near $US1.35, briefly falling below the key 100-day moving average. The euro traded at $1.3557, down from about $US1.3590 late Friday.

The dollar was at ¥82.42, compared with ¥82.20. The euro was at ¥111.71 from ¥111.67 yen. The UK pound traded at $US1.6094, compared with $US1.6097, and the dollar was at 0.9566 Swiss franc from 0.9547 franc.

The Swedish krona hit a fresh 10-year high against the euro as the economy continued to show signs of strength, raising expectations of interest-rate increases and attracting investors.