While you were sleeping: UPDATED Stocks rise as Trump budget brings relief

Wall Street moved higher amid initial relief about US President Donald Trump's budget plan.

"There were no large surprises. The market is pleased with that," Wade Balliet, chief investment strategist at Bank of the West, told Reuters.

At the close of trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 43.08 points, or 0.2%, to 20,937.91. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 0.2% to 6138.71 and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.2% to 2398.42, its fourth successive day of gains.

The Dow rose, led by gains in shares of Goldman Sachs and those of JP Morgan Chase, up 1.7% and 1.5% respectively. Bucking the trend were shares of Home Depot and those of Walt Disney, down 0.7% and 0.5% respectively for the biggest percentage drops in the Dow.

Government bonds fell, with the yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rising to 2.285% from 2.254% on Monday.

New home sales down
A Commerce Department report showed new home sales sank 11.4% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 569,00 units in April, compared with an upwardly revised 642,000 units in March.

While that was a bigger slide than economists had expected, the outlook for the housing market remains solid.

"Demand for housing remains strong and the usual list of support factors hasn't changed, with the key items being job growth and wage gains," Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, told Reuters.

Indeed, Fed fund futures showed traders are cementing bets the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month, according to Bloomberg.

Minutes from the May 2-3 meeting, slated for release on Wednesday, will be scoured for fresh clues on the timing and pace of rate hikes.

Meanwhile, shares of grain trader Bunge soared 16.6% after mining and commodity trader Glencore said it "made an informal approach to Bunge regarding a possible consensual business combination."

"Discussions may or may not materialise and there is no certainty that any transaction will occur," Glencore said in the statement.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the day with a 0.2% gain from the previous close. Germany's DAX Index rose 0.3%, while France's CAC40 Index climbed 0.5%.

The UK's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.2%.

German economy booms
Germany, the eurozone's largest economy, offered fresh reasons to be optimistic about the region's outlook.

Separate reports showed that the nation's economic growth increased to 0.6% in the first quarter, while business confidence as measured by the Ifo institute climbed to 114.6 in May, the highest level in more than 25 years.

Oil prices rose amid fresh indications that OPEC and its partners are likely to extend production cuts for another nine months when they meet on Thursday in Vienna.

"Six and nine months are both proposals on the table ... we will support the majority, probably the nine months," Ecuador Oil Minister Carlos Perez told reporters after arriving in Vienna on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

US crude oil for July delivery rose 0.7% to $US51.47 a barrel, posting its fifth consecutive session of gains. 

(BusinessDesk)