While you were sleeping: UPDATED Wall St rises in fourth day of gains

Wall Street rose in a fourth day of gains as investors relished the prospect of fewer US interest rates rises this year.

On Tuesday, Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen signalled the central bank would "proceed cautiously" in raising rates, citing "global economic and financial developments."

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had gained 83.55 points, or 0.5%, to 17,716.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index also rose 0.5% to 4869.29, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 0.4% to 2063.95.

"You have got the follow through from the Fed," Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana, told Reuters.

"They are taking one of the fears basically off the table at this point in terms of rising interest rates."

Odds of a US rate increase next month fell to zero Tuesday, from 10% a week ago, while the probability of a hike in June slid to 28%, from 46% a week earlier, according to futures trading tracked by Bloomberg.

Apple shares surge
Shares in Apple rose 1.8%, notching the second-biggest gain in the Dow. 

Lululemon Athletica surged 11% after the fitness clothing company reported fourth-quarter profit that surpassed analysts' estimates. It also outlined new long-term sales goals and changes to its management structure.

The S&P 500 pared back its gains after advancing more than 0.8% on the price of oil after an Energy Information Administration report showed US crude inventories rose 2.3 million barrels in the last week.

US crude oil added 0.3% to $US38.38 a barrel, reducing its earlier increases. While the data were lower than analysts had expected, it did not help to ease concern about the build-up.

"The data pose a bit of a conundrum, in that crude stocks still increased so much despite strong refining runs and an apparent drop in imports," New York-based energy data provider ClipperData commodity research director Matt Smith told Reuters.

The US jobs market keeps offering signs of strength. The latest ADP Research Institute data showed private payrolls rose by 200,000 this month, following a revised 205,000 increase in February.

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 Index ended the day with a 1.3% gain from the previous close. The UK's FTSE 100 Index climbed 1.6%, as did Germany's DAX Index, while France's CAC 40 Index rallied 1.8%.

Shares of Anglo American soared 11.8% in London. Berenberg Bank said the miner seems to be positioning itself to attract a large corporate buyer.

Meanwhile, a gauge of eurozone economic confidence fell more than expected to the lowest level in more than a year, with a European Commission report showing an index of executive and consumer confidence fell to 103.0 in March, down from a revised 103.9 the previous month.

(BusinessDesk)