Recent leaders juice up Wall Street

US investors piled on a dizzying two-year advance in stocks, using a brief slip on negative economic news as an opportunity to buy into market leaders.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 29.97 points, or 0.24 percent, to 12,318.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 4.11 points, or 0.31 percent, to 1,340.43. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 6.02 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,831.58.

European shares hovered near a 29-month closing high after strong US manufacturing data helped offset a rise in inflation and weekly jobless claims, against a backdrop of mixed corporate earnings.

A rise in US core consumer prices and the higher jobless numbers weighed on the FTSEurofirst 300 in the afternoon session before bullish manufacturing data helped it pare losses to provisionally end flat at 1,186.30 points.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose for a fourth session to a 9-1/2-month high as solid earnings and global merger activity encouraged foreign investors to keep snapping up outperforming Japanese shares.

The Nikkei average finished up 0.3 percent or 28.35 points at 10,836.64, the highest closing price in nine and a half months. It earlier rose as high as 10,891.60, which was the highest intraday level since an April 30 peak of 11,092.52. The April high becomes the Nikkei's next target but analysts say that with the market nearing 11,000 after rapid gains, it will become more vulnerable to profit-taking and any further advances will be hard-won.

The broader Topix index gained 0.7 percent to 974.14.