Friday, January 4, 2013

Global stocks yield up on US data

World shares rose to eight-month highs today, sending bond prices lower, after a strong showing by the US services sector, signalling a steady recovery by the US economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 22.8 points or 0.17 percent, to 13,414.16, the S&P 500 gained 4.8 points or 0.33 percent, to 1,464.17 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.67 points or 0.05 percent, to 3,102.23.

European shares set a 22-month high today, buoyed by supportive data and led by rig contractor Transocean, which agreed to settle US government charges over BP's Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index ended 0.4 percent higher at 1,167.24 points, the highest close since early 2011. It is already up 2.8 percent this year, fuelled by a U.S. budget deal. It rose 13 percent last year and is up 23 percent from a low in June 2012.

Japan's Nikkei share average climbed to a 22-month high on its first trading day of 2013, as a deal in Washington to avert the "fiscal cliff" buoyed investor risk appetite and the weaker yen lifted exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp.

The Nikkei ended up 2.8 percent at 10,688.11, its highest close since March 4, 2011. It was also the Nikkei's biggest daily percentage gain since March 22, 2011.