Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Bare-bones EU debt deal news enough for buyers

US stocks rose on Wednesday as the slow progress from European leaders in resolving their debt crisis was enough to satisfy investors, even if early reports from an EU summit were short on detail.

Stocks increased gains in the afternoon as the news emerged, continuing the market's recent rally. The S&P has risen 9.5 percent for the month on growing optimism for a deal to address sovereign debt and bank balance sheets in Europe.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 162.42 points, or 1.39 percent, to 11,869.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 12.94 points, or 1.05 percent, to 1,241.99. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 12.25 points, or 0.46 percent, to 2,650.67.

European shares were flat, with upbeat earnings offset by concerns that a summit of European Union leaders would not come up with a strong enough package of measures to tackle the euro zone debt crisis.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was flat at 982.56 points, after falling 0.7 percent in the previous session.

The index has lost more than 12 percent in 2011 on worries about the euro zone and slowing global growth, though it is up more than 15 percent from a September low as policymakers step up their efforts to stem the crisis.

In Asia, the Nikkei stock average ended a volatile session slightly lower. Tokyo investors continued to watch foreign exchange markets after the dollar dipped to a fresh record low against the yen at 75.73 yen yesterday.

The Nikkei average finished down 0.2 percent at 8,748.47, while the broader Topix lost 0.2 percent to 746.48.