Global stocks end mix on 'fiscal cliff'
Global stocks climbed today, giving the S&P 500 its best day since November 23, on rising hopes that negotiations over the "fiscal cliff" were making progress and that a deal could be reached in days.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 100.38 points, or 0.76 percent, to 13,235.39. The S&P 500 Index gained 16.81 points, or 1.19 percent, to 1,430.39. The Nasdaq Composite added 39.27 points, or 1.32 percent, to 3,010.60.
European shares fell today, hit by slumps in telecoms group KPN and power company Aggreko, as investors cashed in some equity holdings at the start of the final, full trading week of 2012.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed down 0.1 percent at 1,132.52 points, while the euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index also fell 0.1 percent to 2,628.01 points.
Japan's Nikkei average climbed to an 8-1/2-month high and a technical chart showed the rally may last, as the yen weakened after the conservative Liberal Democratic Party won a landslide election, calling for aggressive monetary easing.
The Nikkei rose 0.9 percent to 9,828.88, the highest closing level since April 3, while the yen hit a 20-month low of 84.48 yen to the dollar, boosting the appeal of exporters' shares. A weaker yen helps boost Japanese exporters' overseas earnings when repatriated and increases their competitiveness.
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