Thursday, July 26, 2012

Global stocks rally as ECB hints about action

Global stocks rallied on Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged to do whatever is necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 211.88 points, or 1.67 percent, to 12,887.93 at the close. The S&P 500 Index gained 22.13 points, or 1.65 percent, to end at 1,360.02. The Nasdaq Composite added 39.01 points, or 1.37 percent, to close at 2,893.25.

European shares rallied as bullish macro sentiment outshone a barrage of mixed corporate earnings, after the European Central Bank president sent a strong signal that the ECB will act to protect the euro zone from collapse.

The FTSEurofirst 300 rose 24.71 points, or 2.4 percent to 1,042.60, paring losses of more than 4 percent over the previous four trading days.

Earlier, Japan's Nikkei share average wrestled back almost 1 percent today, lifting off a seven-week low as investors picked up stocks on better-than-expected earnings, but the rebound was seen as limited because of concerns over global demand.

The Nikkei gained 0.9 percent to close at 8,443.10 after slumping to just 0.8 percent above its year-to-date low of 8,295.63 yesterday.

The broader Topix index clawed back 1.2 percent to 714.91, although the gain came after it had fallen for 13 of the past 14 sessions.