World stock markets continue recovery

Stocks on Wall Street rose for a second day this week, buoyed by a sharp increase in consumer confidence.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 32.62 points, or 0.3%, to 11,555.63 at the close (10am NZ time), a day after the blue-chip index rallied 291 points.

Home Depot, up 5.3%, and Coca-Cola, up 2.3%, helped push the Dow higher. On the downside, Bank of America fell 3.2% to its lowest since March 2009.

The S&P 500 index is up 0.3% to 1195, as energy and utility stocks led the gains. The technology-oriented Nasdaq Composite is down 0.5% at 2513.

The Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence jumped to its highest level since July and was far better than economists expected.

In other US news, shares in AMR, the parent company of American Airlines, plunged 81% after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The airline will continue normal business operations as it restructures its debt.

Home prices eased in September from a month earlier, the first sequential decline after five straight monthly increases.

Other markets: Europe, Asia rise
European markets rose after a bumpy session, with the Stoxx Europe 600 firming 0.8% to 231.68.

Optimism toward a meeting of eurozone leaders, where changes to the bailout fund are expected, offset a report that Standard & Poor's may put France's triple-A credit rating on review for a possible downgrade.

The UK's FTSE 100 index rose 0.5% to 5337.00, France's CAC-40 index ended up 0.5% at 3026.76 and Germany's DAX added 1% to 5799.91.

Asian markets closed broadly higher on the back of Monday's sharp US gains.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1.1% at 4102.1, retracing an earlier dip into negative territory after the government cut its fiscal 2012 growth forecast.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and the Shanghai Composite Index each gained 1.2%, to 18,256.20 and 2412.39, respectively.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average and Korea's Kospi each rose 2.3%, to 8477.82 and 1856.52, respectively.

Commodities: Oil up, gold steady
Oil futures rose for a third straight day, pushing back toward $US100 a barrel.

Tension rose over Iran, where militants stormed into the British Embassy in Tehran to protest against sanctions over the nuclear armaments programme.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery was up 98USc, or 1%, at $US99.19 a barrel in New York. Brent crude traded $US1.44 higher at $US110.44 a barrel.

Gold prices held near steady. The most actively traded contract, for December delivery, was up $US1.40, or 0.1%, at $US1712.20 an ounce in New York.

Currencies: Euro pares gains
The euro pared gains versus the US dollar after the European Central Bank said it failed to meet all its government-bond purchases.

The euro had traded much higher in the wake of an Italian bond auction despite a further rise in borrowing costs.

The euro briefly turned negative and traded at $US1.3325, off its highs above $US1.34 and from $US1.3320 late on Monday.

The dollar was at ¥77.87 compared with ¥77.96, while the euro was at ¥103.70 compared with ¥103.82.

The UK pound bought $US1.5608 from $US1.5509, while the dollar fetched 0.9205 Swiss franc from 0.9223 franc.