Wall Street stocks resume advance

Stocks on Wall Street have moved higher as investors found reasons for cheer in telecommunications stocks, geopolitical events and better-than-expected US consumer confidence figures.

The gains were largely powered by telecom stocks, which surged on continued optimism about consolidation in the industry after AT&T's bid for T-Mobile USA. AT&T gained 1.5% and Verizon Communications added 1.3%.

Home Depot surged 2.5% after saying it planned to repurchase $US1 billion of its shares through an accelerated share-buyback programme. Adding to investor confidence, the Conference Board's consumer-confidence index fell 8.6 points to 63.4 in March, a smaller decline than expected.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 81.13 points, or 0.7%, to 12,279.01, while the S&P 500 index was up 0.7% to 1319.45. The Nasdaq Composite was up 1.0% to 2756.89.

All of the S&P 500's 10 sectors were in positive territory, with energy stocks leading the way as oil edged up toward $US105 a barrel. Chevron gained 1.2%, while Exxon Mobil added 0.4%

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks shrugged off a Standard & Poor's downgrade of Portugal and Greece. However, bank stocks sank on capital concerns as the European Union bank stress tests loom.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 0.1% at 276.51. The UK's FTSE 100 added 0.5% at 5932.17, boosted by the mining sector. Germany's DAX slipped 0.1% to 6934.44 and France's CAC-40 closed 0.3% higher at 3987.80.

In Asia, Japanese stocks fell further, hit by rising concerns over radioactive leaks from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Indian stocks rose for a sixth straight session as a fall in crude-oil prices eased worries about inflation.

The Nikkei Stock Average ended down 0.2% at 9459.08 and the Sensex rose 0.9% to 19,120.80.

Elsewhere, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5% to 4755.80, Korea's Kospi rose 0.8% to 2072.13, China’s Shanghai Composite fell 0.9% to 2958.08 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended little changed at 23060.36. Taiwan's main index gained 0.5% to 8596.57.

Commodities: Oil, gold rise marginally
Oil futures rose marginally as uncertainty continued on when Libya's crude production could return to the market. The main issue is whether shipments from the rebel-held territory is subject to UN sanctions.

Oil prices have risen sharply since the Libyan conflict began in mid-February, rising as high of $US106.95 a barrel earlier this month.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose 62USc, or 0.6%, to $US104.60 a barrel in New York, after trading as low as $US102.70 earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange added 66USc, or 0.6%, to $US115.46 a barrel.

Gold futures edged higher after US consumer confidence soured in March. The most actively traded contract, for April delivery, was up 80USc at $US1420.70 an ounce in New York. The contract had hit a low of $1,411 per troy ounce earlier in the session.

Currencies: Dollar gains ground
The US dollar advanced, buoyed by speculation the Federal Reserve is laying the groundwork to normalise monetary policy.

The euro traded at $US1.4082 from $US1.4093 late on Monday. The pound was at $US1.5979 from $US1.5993, while the dollar bought 0.9202 Swiss franc from 0.9172 franc.

The yen continued to fall, hitting its lowest levels since the G-7 intervention. The dollar bought ¥82.35 from Monday's US close at ¥81.72, while the euro hit its highest level since May 2010 above ¥116. The euro recently was at ¥115.98 from ¥115.17.