Friday, September 16, 2011

Global stocks rally on Europe hope, euro slips

Global equities rose for a fourth straight day on Friday, but the euro slid as hope Europe was finally getting a grip on the region's debt crisis was offset by lingering fears Greece is still at risk of default.

The Nasdaq stock market posted its biggest weekly advance since July 2009, and gains elsewhere in global equity markets suggested risk aversion has dissipated.

The euro headed for its best week in eight against the US dollar, even as it slipped 0.7 percent to $1.3785 on Friday. The announcement on Thursday that the world's leading central banks will boost short-term dollar funding for European banks facing a dollar shortage buoyed the euro.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 75.91 points, or 0.66 percent, at 11,509.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 6.90 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,216.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 15.24 points, or 0.58 percent, at 2,622.31.

European shares extended a rally to a fourth day, on optimism that policymakers may come up with a unified action plan to tackle the euro zone debt crisis at a finance ministers' meeting.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares rose 0.6 percent to 937.85 points, its highest close in more than a week. Over the week, the index gained 2.4 percent, after hitting a 26-month low on Tuesday.

The Nikkei stock average rose more than 2 percent, posting its biggest daily percentage gain since March, as coordinated action from central banks calmed fears of a European credit freeze and sent financial shares surging.

The benchmark's second day of gains pushed it further away from a 2-1/2 year closing low hit on Wednesday, and gave it a weekly gain of 1.4 percent.

The Nikkei climbed 2.3 percent to 8,864.16, breaking above 8,732, the settlement price for September Nikkei futures and options and also above its 25-day moving average of 8,809.

Resistance lies at 8,900, a level above which it hasn't traded since Sept. 2, when it rose to an intraday high of 9,014.27.

The broader Topix index added 2.2 percent to 768.13.