Wall Street rises as euro-zone fears ease

Stocks on Wall Street ended a three-day losing streak as investors' worries over Europe's debt crisis eased following a bid of support from Japan and purchases of euro-zone government bonds by the European Central Bank.

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said it may buy more than 20% of the securities issued by the European Financial Stability Facility in its initial round. The announcement follows reports that China is ready to buy €4-5 billion of Portuguese debt.

At the close (10am NZ time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 34.33 points, or 0.3%, to 11,671.88. Hewlett-Packard was the measure's best performer, up 2.3%, after UBS raised its investment rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral."

Bank of America was also strong, up 2.1%, and American Express added 2.1%. Alcoa declined 0.7% after kicking off the fourth quarter earnings-reporting season with a profit on rising demand and prices, though sales growth wasn't as strong as expected.

The Dow was also weighed down by its telecommunications components, with Verizon Communications down 1.9% and AT&T off 1.2% as Verizon Wireless unwrapped its version of the Apple iPhone, ending AT&T's exclusive hold.

The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2% to 2716.83 while the S&P 500 index added 0.4% to 1274.48, with its energy sector leading the advance. Chevron climbed 1.4% and Halliburton added 3.3% as crude-oil futures rose above $US91 a barrel.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stock markets advanced as euro-zone sentiment improved after ECB bond purchases and the Japanese pledge to follow.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 1.3% at 281.98. The UK's FTSE 100 closed 1% higher at 6014.03, Germany's DAX added 1.2% to 6941.57, and France's CAC-40 climbed 1.6% at 3861.92.

Most major Asian markets advanced, with higher crude-oil prices helping to support energy producers in Hong Kong. Cnooc rose 2.3% and PetroChina added 1.8%. Property shares jumped on mainland Chinese bourses as cheap valuations attracted buyers.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1% to 23,760.34, China’s Shanghai Composite and Korea’s Kospi each added 0.4% to 2804.05 and 2088.32, respectively, and Taiwan’s Taiex climbed 1.3% to 8931.36.

Japanese stocks ended on a mixed note. The Nikkei Stock Average dropped 0.3% to 10,510.68 – though the broader Topix edged up 0.1% – as trading resumed after Monday’s holiday.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 eased 0.03% to 4710.67 as massive flooding in Queensland took its toll on insurers. Suncorp Group fell 3.7% and Insurance Australia Group 1.3%.

Indian shares gave up early gains to end slightly lower, losing ground for the sixth straight day. The BSE Sensex shed 0.1% to 19,196.34.

Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude futures moved higher, pushing above $US91 a barrel as traders remained fearful of supply disruptions from the closure of a major Alaskan pipeline.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery traded $US1.62, or 1.8%, higher at $US90.87 a barrel in New York after rising as high as $US91.33. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $US1.93 higher at $US97.63 a barrel.

Gold futures closed with a gain of more than $US10 an ounce in New York. The February delivery contract climbed $US10.20, or 0.7%, to settle at $US1384.30 an ounce.

The contract, which had touched a high of $US1386.80, ended at its highest level in just over a week.

Currencies: Euro up, yen down
The euro rose against the US dollar on positive developments in the euro-zone’s debt crisis. The euro rose to as high as $US1.2992 after Japan pledged to buy bonds issued by the European bailout fund.

In US trading, the euro was at $US1.2974, up from $US1.2954 late on Monday and well above a four-month low it hit Monday at $US1.2860.

Against the yen, the euro bought ¥108.12 from ¥107.16, while the dollar traded at ¥83.33 from ¥82.73. The UK pound was at $US1.5620 from $US1.5579, while the dollar fetched 0.9758 Swiss franc from 0.9672 franc.