Weekend markets: Gold settles above $US1500

Stocks on Wall Street rose and gold settled above $US1500 an ounce for the first time ahead of the Easter holiday.

A sharp fall in the dollar helped gold reach its historic milestone after trading above the mark for the past three days.

Stocks gained as a round of robust earnings reports overshadowed lacklustre US economic data.

Better-than-expected earnings from bellwether companies helped the market extend gains this week. On Wednesday, the Dow closed at its highest level in nearly three years, fuelled by better-than-expected first-quarter earnings from blue-chip technology companies.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia's regional business index was 18.5 in April, falling below analysts' estimates for a 35.0 reading.

Separately, the number of weekly jobless claims declined, but by less than expected, and the previous week's figures were revised up.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 52.45 points, or 0.4%, at 12,505.99. Travelers rose 3.7% after the insurer boosted its dividend as first-quarter profit exceeded Street forecasts.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.6% to 2820.16. The S&P 500 index added 0.5% to 1337.30.

Other markets: Europe, Asia up
European stocks gained as strong earnings from Akzo Nobel triggered a rally in the chemical sector.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.5% to 280.47, its third consecutive gain. Germany's DAX gained 0.6% to 7295.49 and France's CAC 40 index advanced 0.4% to 4021.88.

The UK's FTSE 100 edged down 0.1% to 6018.30 as a big fall in Vodafone Group offset gains in the technology sector.

Most Asian markets ended higher, with Korea’s Kospi racing to a record as technology stocks were buoyed by Apple's results.

Commodity producers rose on a rally in crude oil and gold prices.

Commodities: Gold closes above $US1500, oil up
Gold futures closed above the $US1500 level for the first time. The thinly traded April-delivery contract settled at a record $US1503.20 an ounce, up 0.3% or $US4.90. The contract set an intraday record of $US1508.30.

The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, settled at $US1503.80, up 0.3% or $US4.90, after hitting an intraday record of $US1509.60.

Oil prices rose as the dollar weakened. Light, sweet crude for June delivery settled up 84USc, or 0.8%, to $US112.29 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled up 14USc, or 0.1%, to $US123.99 a barrel.

Currencies: Dollar falls further
The battered US dollar dipped further after the Philadelphia Fed Index on manufacturing fell far short of market expectations.

The euro was at $US1.4558 from $US1.4511 late on Wednesday.

The dollar was at ¥81.83 from ¥82.39, while the euro was at ¥119.12 from ¥119.55.

The UK pound was at $US1.6528 from $US1.6402. The dollar was at 0.8857 Swiss franc from 0.8886 franc.