Stocks, euro rise but Greece jitters linger
US stocks rebounded from two days of sharp losses on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve said it is prepared to do more for the economy if conditions warrant, helping to stanch the panicky reaction to Europe's debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 178.08 points, or 1.53 percent, at 11,836.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 19.62 points, or 1.61 percent, at 1,237.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 33.02 points, or 1.27 percent, at 2,639.98.
European shares rose, recouping some of the sharp losses in the previous sessions, as investors picked up battered bank stocks, while strong earnings news lifted Randgold Resources and Next.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed up 1 percent at 971.65 points after a 3.4 percent drop in the previous session when a Greek plan to call a referendum on its euro zone bailout package stunned the market.
The Nikkei share average fell more than 2% to a three-week low on resurgent fears over the euro zone's debt woes, after Greece's surprise call for a referendum threatened to scupper a bailout plan aimed at containing the crisis. The Nikkei average fell 2.2 percent to end at the session low of 8,640.42, its lowest close since Oct. 7. The broader Topix index dropped 2.1 percent to 738.58. It dropped below support at its 25-day moving average around 8,727, which has now become a resistance point.
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