The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 climbed to 2009 closing highs, buoyed by energy stocks as oil prices jumped, but financials retreated as investors panned results from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 47 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 10,062.94, a fresh 52-week high. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.5 points, or 0.4 percent, to finish at 1,096.56, its highest close for the year. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 1 points, or 0.1 percent, to end at 2,173.29.

European shares hit a fresh 12-month high, but pared gains after third-quarter earnings at US giants Goldman Sachs and Citigroup disappointed some investors.

Results at mobile phone giant Nokia also hit sentiment. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares is up 0.1 percent at 1,016.79 points, having been as high as 1,024.34, the highest since Oct. 7, 2008.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.8 percent to a three-week closing high, led by exporters and tech shares after robust US company results and retail sales data boosted optimism about an economic recovery.

Panasonic Corp rose 3 percent after Credit Suisse hiked its rating on the firm to "outperform" from "neutral", saying that it felt the share price was undershooting on concerns of financing risks, with earnings solid and the stock looking attractively priced.

Despite paring gains that took the Nikkei up as much as 2.1 percent by midday, the benchmark gained 178.44 points to 10,238.65 - its highest close since Sept 25.