World stocks rise sharply

Stocks on Wall Street and in Europe jumped sharply as Spanish debt fears receded and the US corporate sector produced strong results.

Coca-Cola rose 2.7%, leading the Dow's advance with first-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations.

Johnson & Johnson fell 0.2% after reporting first-quarter earnings that beat forecasts, although top-line results came up slightly below expectations.

Goldman Sachs slipped after beating profit expectations as revenue fell less than feared from a year ago, Apple rose 4.4%, snapping a five-session streak of declines that cost it more than $US50 billion in market capitalisation.

In economic news, US home construction fell 5.8% in March, the second straight monthly decline and well below expectations for a 0.7% increase. The number of new housing permits rose 4.5% last month and reached their highest level since September 2008.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 194.13 points, or 1.5%, to 13,115.54 at the close (8am NZ time).

The S&P 500 index was up 1.6%, to 1390.78 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.5%, to 3042.82.

Other markets: Europe up, Asia down
A bond auction in Spain eased concerns about the country's rising cost to borrow. Yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds fell back below 6%.

German economic sentiment was up but Spain's Repsol plunged 6.1% after the Argentine government moved to nationalise energy group YPF, of which Repsol owns the majority.

European sharemarkets were sharply higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index rising 2% to 259.45, its best day since November 30,.

Spain's benchmark IBEX 35 snapped a three-session losing streak as it gained 1.3% to 7373.30.

France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX indexes climbed 2.7%, to 3292.51 and 6801.00, respectively, while London's FTSE 100 gained 1.8% to 5766.95. Italy's FTSE MIB index jumped 3.7% to 14,942.05.

Asian markets were mostly lower. China's Shanghai Composite shed 0.9% to 2334.98. after data showed that foreign direct investment in China fell for the fifth straight month in March.

Taiwan's Taiex fell the most, dropping 1.9% to 7,585.87.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 0.2% to 20,562.31,
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index gave up 0.3% to 4,288.80, Korea's Kospi fell 0.4% to 1985.30 and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average slipped 0.1% to 9,464.71.

Commodities: Oil, gold up
Crude-oil futures climbed 1.5% to $US104.44 a barrel, while Europe's Brent crude fell.

US crude for May delivery traded $US1.64, or 1.6%, higher at $US104.58 a barrel in New York. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for June delivery traded 14USc lower at $US118.54 a barrel.

The gap between US-traded WTI and Brent fell below $US14 for the first time in more than two months after rising above $US20 in early April.

Gold futures rose 0.2% to $US1653 a n ounce.

Currencies: Euro holds up
The US dollar rose against the euro and the yen. The euro held above $US1.31, supported by strong demand at a Spanish debt auction and better-than-expected German economic data.

Sterling also notched up gains after the UK's inflation rate rose unexpectedly in March, undermining expectations for more quantitative easing by the Bank of England.

The euro was at $US1.3132 compared with $US1.3141 late on Monday. The dollar was at ¥80.78 compared with ¥80.41, while the euro was at ¥106.08 from ¥105.63.

The pound bought $US1.5939 from $US1.5900, while the dollar changed hands at 0.9152 Swiss franc from 0.9146 franc.