Weekend markets: US stocks rise, gold hits record

Stocks on Wall Street rose, lifted by a stronger-than-expected round of economic data, although disappointing earnings from Google weighed on the technology sector.

Latest economic data showed US consumer sentiment rebounded more than expected in early April, while core inflation excluding energy and food prices was tamer than feared with a rise of just 0.1%.

Other data showed manufacturing activity in the New York area jumped unexpectedly.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 56.68 points, or 0.5%, to close at 12,321.83 (8am NZT), a weekly loss of 0.3%. The S&P 500 index added 0.4% to 1319.68, with every sector up except technology. It was down 0.6% for the week.

The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2% to 2764.65, a weekly loss of 0.6%. Google tumbled 8% after first-quarter earnings fell short of analysts' forecasts amid surging operating costs.

Bank of America's earnings also missed expectations as revenue fell sharply. Its stock slipped 1.1%.

Other markets: Europe up, Asia down
European markets rose as gains for defensive stocks offset declines for banking shares. The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% to 277.78, paring losses for the week to 1.4%.

The FTSE 100 index added 0.5% to 5996.01, helped by gains in the retail sector, but it slipped 1% for the week.

The German DAX 30 rose 0.4% to 7178.29, led by a 2.4% advance for drug firm Merck. The index snapped three weeks of gains with a 0.5% weekly loss.

In Paris, the CAC 40 edged up 0.1% to 3974.48, helped by a 2% gain for cosmetics giant L'Oreal, but finished the week down 2.2%.

Most Asian stock markets fell after news that Chinese economic growth and inflation had exceeded expectations.

The biggest was in India, where the Sensex lost 1.6% to 19,386.82, weighed down by Infosys, which fell 9.6%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.7% to 9591.52, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.7% to 4852.10 and Taiwan's Taiex shed 1% to 8718.12.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and South Korea's Kospi ended little changed, at 24008.07 and 2140.50, respectively, while the Shanghai Composite Index idefied the broad regional trend to rise 0.3% to 3050.53.

Commodities: Gold rises to record, oil up, too
Gold pushed further into record territory as renewed fears of inflation and sovereign-debt default spurred demand.

The thinly traded April-delivery gold contract settled up 0.9%, or $US13.60, at $US1485.30 an ounce in New York. It was the front-month contract's highest settlement ever.

The most actively traded contract, for June delivery, also rose 0.9%, or $US13.60, to settle at $US1486.00.

Crude futures rose on data showing US consumers were more optimistic and that costs for businesses and households rose only modestly last month.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled $US1.55, or 1.4%, higher at $US109.66 a barrel in New York. Brent crude for June delivery on the ICE futures exchange traded $US1.48 higher at $US123.48 a barrel.

Currencies: Euro drops as inflation fears ease
The euro fell to session lows after outgoing Bundesbank President Axel Weber said consumer inflation should fall, if energy prices ease as expected.

The euro has soared in recent weeks on the premise that rising inflation, fueled by the high cost of oil, would prompt the European Central Bank to raise interest rates further.

The euro recently traded at $US1.4437, after dipping to $US1.4408, from $US1.4494 late on Thursday. The euro traded at ¥119.99, recovering from ¥119.78, compared with ¥121.06 late on Thursday.

The dollar continued to weaken against the yen after a muted core consumer-prices reading hinted the Federal Reserve could hold rates low for longer.

The dollar weakened to ¥83.11 from ¥83.45.