Stocks on Wall Street broke out of their recent torpor and kicked off December with a strong advance on further evidence of global economic recovery.All the main indexes rose more than 2% with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 249.76 points, or 2.3
Stocks on Wall Street broke out of their recent torpor and kicked off December with a strong advance on further evidence of global economic recovery.
All the main indexes rose more than 2% with the Dow Jones Industrial Average surging 249.76 points, or 2.3%, to 11,255.78 at the close (10am NZ time). The rise wiped out all of November's 1% loss in a single session.
All 30 of the Dow's component stocks and all 10 of the S&P 500's sectors finished in positive territory. The S&P 500 was up 2.2% at 1206.07 while the Nasdaq rose 2.05% to 2549.43, its biggest one-day gain in nearly two months.
In the US, private-sector jobs in November increased for the 10th consecutive and the largest one-month gain in three years and spending on construction projects also unexpectedly rose by 0.7% in October, for a second straight gain.
Productivity also rose more than previously thought in the third quarter, as companies boosted output while also holding down labour costs.
Asian and European economic data was also positive. A UK manufacturing survey registered its highest reading in 16 years and Germany's retail sales jumped higher than expected in October.
Meanwhile, in China, two separate gauges of manufacturing activity posted increases in November.
Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stock markets rose, led by a recovery in some of the region's most battered markets.
Investors picked up financial stocks, which had slumped in recent days on worries about the financial health of some euro-zone governments, and mining stocks, which rose on upbeat global economic data.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index ended up 2% at 267.11. The U.'s FTSE 100 gained 2.1% to 5642.50, Germany's DAX climbed 2.7% to 6866.63 and France's CAC-40 rose 1.6% to 3669.29.
Madrid's IBEX 35, which plunged 14% in November, surged 4.4% to 9678.40. Milan's FTSE MIB, which skidded 11% last month, climbed 2.4% to 19566.06.
Most Asian stock markets climbed as a strong manufacturing report in China spurred gains in regional commodity shares.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.5% to 9988.05, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped 1.1% to 23249.80 and China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 2823.45.
Korea's Kospi gained 1.3% to 1929.32, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 edged up less than 0.1% to 4586.62, Taiwan's Taiex gained 1.8% to 8520.11 and India's Sensex advanced 1.7% to 19850.
Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude prices rose above $US86 a barrel, hitting two-week highs as improving data in the US and China boosted hopes for oil demand.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery traded $US2.31, or 2.8%, higher at $US86.42 a barrel in New York, close to a high of $US86.47 hit earlier in the session. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $US2.46 higher, at $US88.38 a barrel.
Gold futures neared $US1400 an ounce in New York as investors sought to hedge against sovereign-debt woes in Europe and inflationary pressures in Asia.
The most actively traded futures contract, for February delivery, was up $US5.50, or 0.4%, at $US1391.60 an ounce.
Currencies: Euro up
The euro rose back above $US1.31 as the potential for more European Central Bank purchases of bonds of some of the bloc's more troubled nations shored up investor confidence.
The euro stabilised after ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet sought to allay financial market concerns over the procedure for dealing with possible sovereign defaults.
The euro was at $US1.3083, up from $US1.2981 late on Tuesday.
The dollar was at ¥84.24 from ¥83.70, while the euro was at ¥110.20 from ¥108.65. The UK pound was at $US1.5562 from $US1.5556.
The dollar was at 1.0040 Swiss francs, from 1.0041 francs.
